Dandelion Wine - the drink, not the book!Jun 10 '00 (Updated Oct 11 '00) Write an essay on this topic.It took me a long time to find a place to purchase genuine dandelion wine, but I finally bought some... But wait, it's celebration time! Woo Hoo! My finals are over; I actually got an "A" in the class I thought I was failing up until the very last day, I'm taking the summer off from school, it is Friday, the grass is green, the weeds are dying... Oh yeah, the weeds. I used to work in the lawn care industry, selling commercial lawn and tree care, and consultation services to Park Districts, School Districts, Cities, strip malls, etc. People would ask me, "So why do you hate dandelions so much?" and of course I'd respond, "But I love dandelions; they are pretty, and enough people do hate them that KA-CHING!" Now I know people use dandelion root for some herbal remedy, and they eat the leaves as a kind of salad green, but I wasn't really interested in any of that. I only wanted, ever since reading the book Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, to taste what I imagined to be a bitter and potent elixir. (After all, when you pick dandelion flowers, the milky sap from the stems gets on your hands and if you taste it later, it is definitely a strong bitter taste.) But back to my impromptu celebration. As it turns out, the only "spirits" we had in the house were a couple of bottles of genuine dandelion wine that I had bought as client gifts, just before I clawed my way free of the corporate jungle to run naked through the Elysium fields of academia again. (Not a pretty sight, I must admit, at my stage of life.) "What the heck," my small group of friends and I said. "It's wine after all, how bad can it be?" Understand that I am the closest thing to an expert in the group, but more about that in another epinion. Here's the consensus: ME: What's that horrible smell? <sip> Agccck! <sip> <sip> <sip> Hmm. Kinds grows on ya. <sip> Why this isn't bad at all! Way too sweet for my taste, and it smells like a bride's maid's bouquet, but <sip> definitely drinkable! <gulp> <gulp> Pour on, my good man! MY SISTER LAURA: (Reading my new copy of Bust magazine, which had a rather shocking consumer article on portable, er, wearable, well never mind) <Chugita, chugita, chugita> Yeah. Good. Thanks. Tastes like sugar water, smells like perfume. Sure, I'll take another glass. <Chugita, chugita> Where did you get this magazine, oh my God! EMMETT: (Neophyte but enthusiastic drinker) This stuff is great! Most white wine tastes bitter or sour to me, but this goes down like fruit juice! You can't even taste the (12%) alcohol! <gulp> <gulp> It has a really familiar taste. Something... <sip> I know this taste! It's... <sip> cough syrup! That's it! It tastes just like flower-flavored cough syrup! Pass that bottle over! MY HUSBAND BOB: <sniff> <sip> (Looks at us all with disdain) It tastes fine, if you like sweet wines. The "smell" is definitely flowery, but appropriate considering what it is made from. I think it smells good and tastes fine. Anyone who enjoys sherry, as I do, would probably like this wine. By the way, who paid for this? ME: We did, honey, I never bothered to expense it, but don't worry, it only cost $5.95 per bottle. There is another bottle in the fridge, should we open it? LAURA, EMMETT, BOB: Sure! Dandelion wine, along with several other specialty wines like Cranberry, Plum, Rhubarb and mixtures of the above: Lover's Wine (Cranberry and Plum,) Colony Cocktail (Grape and Rhubarb,) American Pride (Cranberry and Grape,) and Thimbleberry (Cranberry and Rhubarb,) are all available through Old Wine Cellar Winery in Amana, Iowa. They have a website, but to place an order you have to call (Barbara Buchanon 319/662-3116) to give your credit card and address info over the phone. Apparently there are certain states from which one may not purchase alcoholic beverages through the mail, and there is an over-21 signature required on all deliveries. While I cannot say I would ever drink Dandelion Wine again, though Bob says he would, I think it would make an interesting gift to: a Bradbury fan, a gardener, a wine person (gag gift there I'm afraid -- and I mean gag,) or just as a conversation piece at a party.  |
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