Dandelion wine; Bellview History in a Glass.

We are one of two wineries in the country who have Dandelion as a staple wine in their tasting room. This is a true fact. I have scoured the web many a late night, and have only located one other Winery that makes it. (If you do this, just be careful, you may try to order it like I did and later discover you have bought a Ray Bradbury novel by the same name.)

For those who don’t know our Dandelion recipe is an honest family secret. I had to practically marry in to learn it in full. Jim remembers his Great Aunt Ada making it for as long as he has been around. Jim actually celebrated his 50th birthday by opening a bottle that was made the year he was born. When Bellview decided it would start making the wine to sell, Ada was still alive, and insisted on making sure Jim used the family recipe. There have already been three wines named after family members, honoring the Quarella family is an important part of our business. (I even got a AAA renewal for Frank Quarella today, Jim’s Grandfather who has not been with us for some time. I like to think it would have made Frank chuckle.) Dandelion Ada died in 2007, but her legacy lives on proudly though this unique dessert wine.

Her recipe calls for lemons and dandelion flowers. We essentially took her recipe and scaled it up to a industry size. Those items are steeped into a sort of tea, and then we ferment it.The flowers are not as bitter as the greens, however they still need sugar added to make them palatable. After the tea is fermented, we sweeten it. Each 375ml bottle is flavored with 50 dandelion flowers, approximately. We still hand pick them.

Dustin hand picking this past month.

The wine itself ages like any other wine. It gains complexity and character, color, it develops into almost a completely different wine.

From Left to Right, Dandelion wine from 1984, 2007, and 2011 

Even in just the short 4 year time span you can see a color change. The 1984 one is the most drastic. Though 1984 is far from the oldest one we have here. When Jim was  renovating the winery, he was working in the original family wine cellar and came across an absolute goldmine of his Great Aunt’s wine. Ranging from 1953 and upwards, brown gallon jugs sat in rows, with her own hand written notes next to them.

Once these bottles were found, Jim moved them to another place on the farm to make sure they didn’t get forgotten again. He took me down to where they are kept, close enough to get to them, but far enough so that they are only occasionally remembered, so as not to be too tempted to open them. Along the way to the bottles, I saw another case of wine, a scribbled note next to it reads “Sauvignon Blanc 4-9-2000”

This was a batch of wine Jim made before the Winery opened, almost 11 years ago. I wonder how it aged?

After some moving of old farm equipment and curtains, I saw the un-assuming bottles. I was so exited to see such rich history. I wonder if Ada know what a gift she had left behind.

So much history!

Upon closer inspection you can see her hand writing on the masking tape.

Jim poses with a bottle of his Aunt's Dandelion wine from 1983!

The family carries on the tradition by stowing away some of the dandelion vintages. Sometimes with notes saying ‘Do not open until X-Mas’.

3, and 8 more years on these bottles before we can open them.

This year was the first year we re-released an older vintage, the 2007. The hope is we will be able to age it long enough so that our customers will have the opportunity to taste what aging does to this wine. Though like anything else, good things come to those who wait. Maybe when the winery reaches it’s 25 year mark I can un-earth some of the really aged stuff. Until then, I recommend buying a bottle and hiding in your own cellar, who knows? Maybe it will turn into a story for your own family history.

For more Dandelion Wine info, check out
Down Home South Jersey for a formal interview with Jim!<a