Dandelion Wine, Grape Wine, and Cherry Wine Recipes
I was looking through my grandmother’s handwritten, recipe box while having coffee with her and came across wonderful old Dandelion Wine, Grape Wine, and Cherry Wine Recipes. Soon, I should have all the recipes copied to be sure I have them
As I was sitting down at her table with her I asked her if she had ever attempted to make the wine recipe. I noticed that they were fruit-stained, so I assumed that she had. Sometimes, it’s just the spark needed to start a day of memories.
While some people may find it boring to sit through stories of days gone by, I do not. That day, was a day that will be stored in my memory banks forever.
Back in her day, pretty much everything was handmade. Right down to the soap they washed with. We dug through her boxes and she pulled out the handmade soap recipes, wine recipes, pickle recipes, Belgian pie recipes, jam and jelly recipes and the list goes on and on.
There were some recipes I grew up with. I remember her making, and now, they were being passed on to me. There were even recipes she was pretty thrilled she didn’t have to make anymore, like lye soap.
I wanted to share a few of the wine recipes with you. I am told that I should try and make the wines because they are cheap to produce and the taste is out of this world.
Grape Wine
(I wrote out the recipe EXACTLY how it reads)
Grape Wine Recipe
For each gallon of grapes use one gallon of water. Boil together till grapes fall apart, Pass the liquid through a cloth bag till all juice is out.
Measure the juice. For every gallon of juice add 3 pounds of sugar. Put it in a stone jar. For about 5 gallons of juice, you add 1/2 of a seven-cent bar of yeast.
Let stand where it is warm until there are no more bubbles on it. Mix every day. After it is done rising you can bottle it.
Cherry Wine
Door County, WI is known for its famous cherry crop. You can’t go through the season without picking or purchasing cherries!
My grandmother received the following recipe from the “Poehler” family. They owned a cherry orchard in Door County. I thought it was an interesting recipe.
Cherry Wine Recipe
2 quarts cherries
1 pint of whiskey
2 cups sugar
Pour sugar and whiskey over the cherries. Let stand 6 weeks. Strain and bottle.
Dandelion Wine
2 quarts of dandelion flower heads (remove greens on the back)
4 quarts water
4 pounds sugar
4 lemons
2 oranges
1 cake yeast (1″)
1 egg white
Add flower heads to water and boil, cover and turn off the burner, and let soak for 36 hours. Strain, reserving the juice.
Add sugar and juice of lemons and oranges. Let stand for 24 hours.
Add yeast. Place liquid in jugs and let rise. When scum rises to the top, add beaten egg white. Let stand 3 days. Strain and bottle.
Enjoy making the dandelion wine, grape wine, and cherry wine recipes.
