Dandelion Wine
by Mindy L. Zoghlin

John says I remind him of an elderly man just off the boat from Italy. That’s pretty funny because I’m a middle-aged, nice Jewish girl from Long Island.

So I make my own pesto and tomato sauce … and wine (both red and white, but mostly red). I’d like to learn how to make stuffed olives. Maybe that’s why John teases me about my true identity. But as the days grow longer and temperatures creep into the 60’s, I’m beginning to agree with him.

I love spring. Not love as enjoy, but love as a physical craving. The other morning I woke up thinking I heard birds chirping. It was a just a dream, but soon will be a reality. Every morning on the way to work I scour the landscape for the first hint of a crocus, budding tree, or greening grass.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the other seasons. There’s a comforting symmetry about the way the change in seasons mirrors the life cycle. Spring starts off the year with the miracle of birth (You have to admit, nothing can beat that). Summer’s pace is like a carefree teenager. Fall’s change of colors and cooling temperatures parallel the transition to young adulthood. And winter turns the world, and middle aged hair, gray. I see the same cycle repeated in my law practice, where young parents change their wills to address the needs of new family members; businesses, like teenagers, grow excitedly and need guidance; adults buy and sell homes; and middle aged children care for their elderly parents, and ultimately, their parents’ estates. The life cycle permeates everything. But I digress; back to spring.

I put several bottles of last year’s Dandelion Wine in the refrigerator in anticipation of the first really spring like day. I can picture it in my mind: bright sunshine, warm temperatures, the smell of freshly cut grass. The Dandelion Wine tastes and looks just like that. It’s a fermented citrusy tea. My mouth is watering.

Dandelion Wine, properly chilled and sipped outside on a fine May evening, is like drinking the wine-personification of spring. You literally bring spring inside of yourself. Slightly sweet, sunshine yellow, herbal, it tastes like May. I cannot wait to open and share it.

My favorite Dandelion Wine is based on a recipe from Steve’s grandfather, who actually is an elderly Italian man (see box).

OK, now it’s your turn. Who wants to teach me how to make stuffed olives?

© 2009 Mindy Zoghlin. Mindy & Ben Zoghlin are members of Rochester Area Home Winemakers. Mindy & John Bansbach practice law at Bansbach Zoghlin P.C. Steve DeMeo is an environmental consultant with GeoQuest Environmental, Inc.

Dandelion Wine Recipe

36 cups of dandelion flowers (no stems or green parts, it makes the wine bitter)
4 oranges, 2 lemons and 1 lime, quartered
4 tsp. food grade acid blend
15 lbs. sugar
1 ½ tsp. tannin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
Pasteur Champagne yeast

• Pick dandelions as soon as the dew clears on a beautiful, sunny spring morning. It has to be sunny or the wine won’t taste like spring. Honest.
• Bring dandelion flowers and 3 gallons of water to a boil and simmer with oranges, lemons, and lime for 30 minutes. Include the peels. (Doesn’t that smell great?!? Is it spring yet?). Add acid blend.
• Cover and let steep overnight.
  ? The next day, the whole house will smell amazing, but don’t get distracted. In a separate pot, bring 32 cups of water to a boil. Slowly add sugar 5 pounds at a time and stir until it is completely dissolved. And I mean completely.
• Once everything is cool, add it all to a food grade primary fermenter with a package of Pasteur Champagne yeast.
• The next day, stir in tannin and yeast nutrient.
• Punch down flowers and fruit at least twice a day, or as much as you like. Doesn’t it smell great?
• After 5, 6 or 7 days, pour the liquid through a sieve into a five-gallon carboy fitted with a bung and airlock. If there’s any left over, freeze it to use during racking.
• Rack 2 or 3 times before bottling.
• Fine if needed.
• Bottle in January, when you really need to think about the promise of spring.