AT THE moment there is a plague of Taraxacum Officinale in the hedgerows spoiling all the lovely well-manicured lawns.

They are in such mighty profusion, and are mocking all efforts to quell the onslaught.

The sunshine-loving dandelion seems to be everywhere and produces up to 20,000 seeds per head. They could take over the planet in no time.

Well, let’s get our own back and turn this frustrating negative into a rewarding positive.

I am thinking wine – nothing unusual there – and being an eternally proud holder of a first-prize winning certificate from the Andover Wine Making Circle I give you for your delectation a very simple recipe that you could enjoy making.

Collect two quarts’ worth of fully-opened dandelion heads and discard any green.

Pour one gallon of boiling water over them and leave for a maximum of two days.

Then together with the peel of three oranges and one lemon, no pith, boil the mixture for ten minutes.

Cool and strain onto three pounds of sugar and stir.

When cool, add yeast nutrient, the orange and lemon fruit juice and half a pound of raisins.

Then add a level teaspoon of yeast and allow to ferment in a demijohn fitted with an air lock.

When the wine is clear and the fermentation ceases, bottle off the golden nectar.

Your reward should be a fine rustic wine in time for a Christmas slurp. Cheers!

John ‘Wine Lover’ Porter, of Millway Road, Andover