Dandelion Wine Experiment Result

Hello Nature-led Friends!

As promised, I uncorked the Dandelion wine last night that my son had helped me harvest for three years ago!

Smell

Upon uncorking the bottle, the smell was strong. Not a bad smell, just very strong and we worried we might be taking sips of vinegar instead of wine.

Color

A beautiful color. I had expected pale yellow or maybe a pale-yellow green color similar to the color of a faded dandelion flower, but in liquid form. This amber brown was really a nice surprise!

Taste

Strong! It has a unique taste and the best way I can describe it is somewhere between whisky and amaretto. It was very much like the kind of liqueur one might add to baked goods or cakes by the teaspoon. After a few sips I had a headache. I suspect the alcohol content might be on the high side. There was no way to test it that I know of without buying a special alcoholmeter. I’m convinced it could clean the sticker residue off a window though.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve affectionately nicknamed it “Pacific Northwest Hooch” or “PNW Moonshine.” It’s my first time trying to make something fermented. I’m still flirting with the idea of try to make Kombucha, but I would be the only one in the house interested in drinking it. We don’t have the fridge or storage space for me to go making any large selfish experiments. I’ll have to find an equally interested co-conspirator who could provide the storage space to work with!

As for Dandelion Wine, it was a lot of work to pull all of those tiny flowers off the heads and then to wait a minimum of a year before trying it after filtering it through two bottles over a matter of months. I’m curious how it would have tasted at the one-year mark, but not enough to go through the whole process again. I’m not much of a drinker to begin, so I’ll still to buying a bottle of wine or spirits from the professionals, as needed. This does answer my question of why Dandelion Wine is not a common wine option.

May you have a wonderful and pleasantly interesting week! Remember to get outside and remain curious about the world around you!

What’s a crazy or interesting thing that you’ve tried? How did it turn out?

Stay Tuned!

I’m planning a proposal on a new, low stakes, interactive Nature-led project together and a post about AI’s impact on Society and Nature. Hold my coat, I’ve got thoughts!