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Monday
Aug112008

Joe Merlot's Dandelion Wine

Saturday evening was the finale of our town's week long "Small Town Days" celebration.  The morning began with a parade and fun-run, an art and quilt show, an afternoon rodeo, culminating with a neighborhood party and real fireworks.  It was very pleasant.

Chris, our two older boys and I watched the fireworks from our backyard.  I'm not a photographer, so forgive these images.  It was pretty.  You had to be there...

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Chris' parents live in Colorado and have many neat, interesting friends.  One of them is a man we call Joe Merlot.  He makes wine.  Chokecherry, plum, merlot, and even dandelion wine. 

I tasted dandelion wine for the first time five years ago.  I was spending the afternoon with my father-in-law at a semi-regular meeting of retired guys (long story) that they called "The Garden Party".  I can't express what a fun afternoon this was.  There were three friends in the group.  They alternated hosting which entailed serving lunch and beverages.  The men engaged in light conversation and adjourned late afternoon after a sip of Scotch.  I was referred to as "the guest speaker" the day I was included.

Joe Merlot was one of The Garden Party members and he fascinated me with his wine making stories, particularly how involved it is to make dandelion wine.  He had recruited his friends many times to harvest dandelions which is very labor intensive because, I was told, it's important to pick only dandelion petals and avoid the green, bitter stems or leaves. 

My father-in-law was hosting and happened to have a bottle of Joe Merlot's dandelion wine.  Lucky me - he opened it for us to share.  Sipping dandelion wine is cool, simply because you're sipping dandelion wine.  This bottle tasted a little like chardonnay, with the smokiness of a Scotch (I don't think my palette was influenced by my adjourning sip of Scotch - but possibly).  I liked it.

Dandelion_1_3 Joe Merlot gave me a bottle of dandelion wine to take home to Utah after that trip five years ago.  He sent a bottle with my father-in-law a year later, and last summer, one more bottle was sent with my father-in-law for us to share.  I wish I lived closer to him so I could be his apprentice.

WHY do I tell you my dandelion wine story?  Because the only thing that would have made the culmination of our "Small Town Days" more enjoyable, would have been if we were sippin' dandelion wine...

Reader Comments (6)

I haven't ever tasted it but, as a rabid country music fan, I have heard it sung about many times. You should learn to make it and invite me over :)
August 11, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCorbie
Corb: I may be an anti-rabid country music fan, but isn't it strawberry wine? Deana Carter?

Chris: Your firework pics look great...I try every year and never get anything that even resembles a firework (as is evident on my blog). What is your secret?
August 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterTristan
Corbie - I would LOVE to learn to make dandelion wine and if I do, you'll be the first invited over to sip it with me. Maybe next spring you can help me harvest dandelions in some field, some where - I think it takes quite a few weeds. Joe Merlot says you need to beware of fields where the flowers are sprinkled with coyote pee - adds a little suprise to the flavor of the wine.

Tristan - Thanks. If the pics look good, it's an accident. I didn't use a flash and the shutter speed was slow. I'll email you some of the others that turned out kinda fun. I bought a basic photography book several months ago that's in the exact some place I put it when I brought it home. I should dust it off.
August 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCsquaredplus3
Funny how you like dandelion wine for its Scotchy flavor. I haven't been able to stand the scent of scotch since our infamous binge in your parent's backyard when we were 16! Ahhh, the memories :)Though, I would probably try the stuff because, I agree, there is a certain coolness to saying you did so!hugs!
August 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRobin
Need a dandelion field? Feel free to come visit my backyard. So far we've focused our landscaping efforts on the area that can be seen by the neighbors...our front yard. And I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that the precious blooms have not been contaminated with coyote urine!
August 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterTristan
I always thought "Dandelion Wine" was a cute name or maybe a winery. I had no idea it was real WINE made from real DANDELIONS!

Can you buy this wonderful concoction or is it all handmade and shared b/w friends like moonshine?

Also...the fireworks photos turned out beautifully!
August 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterSan Diego Momma

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