I've been sitting on my Crypto Shakeout Dandelion Wine saga update for a while now. Finding the right words is still tricky for me sometimes. I've had pictures hanging in submit post mode since 20/06 when I actually bottled my wine, but the words.. those I'm trying to find only now.
Thanks, 
There have been some few steps in between from where we last left off.. Once the bubbling had nearly (but not completely) subsided, I re-poured the wine, making sure, I leave out what was left of lemons and other 'debris' at the bottom.
I added the yeast stopper (packet no.2) and poured it back in the big bottle and left it to sit under the bubble for a few more days. It wasn't bubbling at all after that.
After few days I repoured the whole thing again, making sure I leave out the yeast that stays at the bottom if you don't shake it up. I added packets no.3 and no.4. Both are meant for clearing up the wine. It looked ready to be bottled soon after that, but I let it sit for a while, as I was kind of busy and was waiting for the right time to bottle.
On 20/06/2021 it was the right kind of day to bottle the wine.
First things first - you got to get some bottles! Wash them and put them in the oven to sterilize. (Alternatively one can sterilize them with hot water, but I found this to be a more convenient method for me.)
I used the boiling hot water method on these though.
I ended up with 15 full bottles (i.e. that is how much I managed to put in the oven in one go), and then I had to figure out what to do with the rest of it.. drink and pour in other containers..
..I might have listened to some Skrillex - Bangarang that evening.
As for the wine itself.. well, if you read the first post you already know I had no expectations and no way of knowing how it will turn out and if it will even be drinkable.
All I knew from other house wines I have tasted before is that they tend to have either a tinge of vinegar or yeast taste. From the recipe, I understood that you need enough lemons to avoid it going into vinegar, and from the guidance of someone who had tried their hand at making wine earlier, I gathered that it is really important not to shake the wine bottle so that when you re-pour the wine, you can get rid of the yeast that ends up at the bottom of the bottle.
But I truly had not expected that it would turn out as good as it did. Especially taking into consideration that a. I had no clue how would a dandelion wine taste in the first place, b. this was my first ever try at making wine. In all fairness my expectations for it were way lower, for all I know it could have ended up from a complete disaster to a mere disappointment. But.. it's good. It's actually really good!
And I'm not just saying that because it's my baby. xD I've also received only compliments from all the people that I've received feedback from.
I've noticed that people try to taste dandelions when they first try it (I did too at first), but I have to say you won't be able to taste them. The wine tastes like wine. Just like you can't really taste grapes in a regular wine. It's not really sweet and not really bitter either. It's more like semi-dry wine if I understand anything of wines and would have to classify..
In the hot summer that we are having here for a change it is just perfect cooled. It's really refreshing then and doesn't sting as much.
As for the tipsiness factor. I do not know the exact degrees it has but it hits nicely in the head at first. Then it subsides, but if you keep drinking at one point you might end up listening to Skrillex. Soo.. drink responsibly, kids!
In all honesty I have only 5 bottles left at this point and at this rate of gifting and drinking them, it looks like they won't even last the summer.
In conclusion, it looks like I have no choice, I will just HAVE to make the dandelion wine next year too.
Meanwhile, I might look into options of making some other type of wine for the autumn. It doesn't look like we have something interesting to make wine out of at the moment, but something might just come up and if it does, I'll surely post about it and let you know.
~Josie~
Song on a loop: London Grammar - Lose Your Head