Squirrels! You may be wondering what on earth this has to do with dandelion wine.
Nothing! But this is my little note to all of you who have been emailing me since my Fox News article came out about eating squirrels. I’ve gotten inquiries about where one might find squirrel recipes on my site. The short answer is nowhere… you see, they are all in my book Girl Hunter, and my publisher won’t allow me to publish what’s in my book everywhere else, because that defeats the purpose of toiling away for years on a book. But the recipes are mighty tasty, so if you don’t want to spend the $16 to order it, I highly recommend asking your local library to order you a copy. I’m sure they would love to. Also, there are some recipes for dove stews and rabbit dishes here that could also be interchanged for squirrel. Be creative! Go wild!
This past Saturday was squirrel appreciation day. But I appreciate squirrels every day and so should you.
Now, on to a dandelion wine update.
As you may recall, I made a batch of dandelion wine over the summer. It was a thrill and I’ve been waiting 6 months to taste it.
What better time than New Year’s Eve I thought?
So I got out a few glasses for family and friends and we had a taste test.
Actually, first I spilled.
Then I poured properly.
First sip: Wow! Sweet but flavorful. A nice bubble to it from the fermentation.
Second sip: Still tasty, but a bit too sweet.
Third sip: It’s becoming too cloying, it needs something to thin out the sweetness. And it’s a little warm. I would refrigerate this before serving for sure.
I added a cube of ice.
Fourth sip: Still too sweet. But it would make a wonderful after dinner aperitif as a result.
I added some sparkling water to turn it into a spritzer.
Amaaaazing. A dandelion spritzer. Sign me up.
Next spring when the dandelions are blooming again, I’m going to try this with a little less sugar and a little more yeast so that the yeast will eat up the sugar and give this a bit more tang. I like tang in my life.
But this was a wonderful adventure in dandelion wine. And my godfather has informed me that the best roasted chicken he’s ever had was with dandelion wine poured over it. I bet it caramelizes the skin in an intoxicating sort of way.
The End.
p.s. For the full dandelion wine recipe go HERE.
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Yes d-lion wine definitely needs to be chilled. Be careful if you add too much yeast and fermentation continues after you bottle, you may need to use the thicker champagne bottles and screw caps or wire the corks on tight.
Very interesting Georgia! My Mom makes wine and honestly I can’t drink it, it’s way too stout for me. I think I might love your dandelion wine though!
A dandelion spritzer, huh? I don’t think that’s something that ever crossed Sam Gribley’s mind, but I have to say that I’m intrigued.
Haha, oh Sam. He would like it too I think.
Weird! I’ve heard of this wine, but haven’t tried it. Sounds interesting though!
Yea this is the first time for me, too but it looks like something that is worth to try.
Mic recently posted..
Thank you for ALWAYS keepin’ us thinking….hmmm.
Teeehee… thinking and eating, eating and thinking.
I grew up in West Texas a crop duster/farmer’s daughter…haha. So, I’m far from being a city girl. But when I visited my husbands family for the first time closer to East Texas I was a lil taken back when we awoke at 4am to hunt squirrel. In the last 17 yrs I’ve eaten some of just about everything and I’m not sure some of it wasn’t road-kill. Squirrel recipes would be of big interest ’round these here parts.
In 2 hrs I’ll know if I won your book at Tidy Mom! 
)))
I hope you win! There are some good squirrel recipes in there!
Reducing the sugar will help, but cutting the yeast will not have any significant effect. Yeast multiple rapidly in the must and will work until the wine becomes too strong for them, some wine yeast will work up to 18% alcohol. I tried to make dandelion wine once, didn’t care for it, should have aged it longer (about 3 months) but I’ve made cherry wine that was pretty good in 6 weeks. Good luck with your next batch!
Perhaps I used the wrong yeast… my friend recommended I use Epernay yeast next time. I used Brewers yeast for this batch.
G, There is a large variety of yeast suitable for wine. If you have a vineyard near you that makes their own wine, they will likely give you a small active culture. Tell them what you are making. If not check this list for guidelines:
http://www.winemakermag.com/guide/yeast
Cool tip, thanks! Maybe I’ll check out the Pellegrini vineyard in Long Island and demand respect.
I am so intrigued!! Despite the buckets upon buckets of dandelions I picked as a kid (for 25 cents per bucket – thanks dad!) I am not turned off by the idea! Wish I could make a batch myself!
There’s always this year
Yes. A spritzer. Love dandelion wine but have to be cautious of a few things. But this looks fantastic, Georgia. I’m down.
Love your book! And I’m not even all the way through it yet. I actually live in Wyoming and it broke my heart to hear of your elk hunting mishap. I am so sorry! Not everyone in Wyoming is like that. But, back to wine…. My grandfather who was from England came for a visit when I was young and had my sister and I pick every single dandelion we could find in the yard (there were tons since my parents never used weed killer). Little did I know that he was planning on making wine with them at the time, but that’s what he did. I never got a taste since I was pretty young for that, but I’m thinking picking dandelions would be something my kids could do. I’ll have to try it out.
I wonder what his recipe was! I am going to have to keep perfecting mine
Wow, I’ve never heard of such a thing. I’ll be on the lookout now!
I made a sweet mead sometime back that turned out a little too sweet. It also converted nicely into a spritzer with the addition of some Sprite. Sparkling water would have been better, but you do what you can.