Hi there.

My name is Raphael Lyon, I am the mazer (mead maker) at Enlightenment Wines- a small natural wine meadery working across the river near New Paltz. For the last six years I have been making among other things- some really fine dandelion wine.

However to make the best dandelion wine possible a lot of flowers- over an ounce per bottle! So  every year I reach out to all kinds of people around the hudson valley and pay them to pick for me for me.  I pay pretty well- 8-10$ a pound for fresh frozen flowers. If you have a good field and can pick during the short flush when the flowers are really dense its not uncommon to make 20-30$ an hour on your own flexible schedule. This is a great way to make a little extra cash this spring hanging out with the birds and the bees in the summer air. I can also trade for wine if that excites you more.

If you are interested, please send me an email to my personal email address-

[email protected] and I can fill you in on the details. There are some caveats about where to pick (not off the highway etc), and you will need access to a freezer. But basically its not really that complicated.

Time is of the essence though!

In about a week or two what will be a few sparse dandelion flowers here and there will become a full blown yellow explosion for only a short time.

That's the time to pick.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Raphael