The novel developed from the short story "Dandelion Wine", which appeared in the June 1953 issue of Gourmet magazine.

In the story, dandelion wine, as made by the protagonist's grandfather, serves as a metaphor for distilling all of the joys of summer.

[1] Dandelion Wine is a series of short stories loosely connected to summer occurrences, with Douglas and his family as recurring characters.

He stated that this trait was what set it apart from his other works:[3] Certainly I would tell anyone wanting to know what makes Ray Bradbury the human being he is to read Dandelion Wine, and anyone wanting to know what makes Ray Bradbury the renowned writer he is to read The October Country or The Martian Chronicles.The novel's heavy reliance on poetical imagery has produced mixed criticism.

Many critics say that these are the novel's greatest strengths because the tone matches the spirit of Bradbury's memories and optimistic outlook.

John Zuck classified it as "spiritual fiction," paying particular attention to the religious theme of holding on to ephemeral beauty, i.e., the short-lived summer.

[4] Floyd C. Gale wrote that "Admirers of Bradbury will welcome this tender volume and even his decriers will find passages of pure evocative magic to soften their flinty hearts".

Alan David Price stated that while "Bradbury is at his most effective when evoking a New World joy and optimism", there are times when his prose becomes overly sentimental and his "gently fantastic style becomes plain tiring".

In giving up this tension, in diving with arms spread into the glutinous pool of sentimentality that has always been waiting for him, Bradbury has renounced the one thing that made him worth reading.Knight remarks further that "The period is as vague as the place; Bradbury calls it 1928, but it has no feeling of genuine recollection; most of the time it is like second-hand 1910."

It was produced by The New Phoenix Repertory Company, under the artistic direction of Stephen Porter and Harold Prince.

The production was directed by Nancy Curran Willis, with music by Jeffrey Gage, and was produced by Jerry Robbins.

In August 2011, Hollywood producers Mike Medavoy and Doug McKay of Phoenix Pictures announced a new American feature adaptation of Dandelion Wine, destined for release in 2012 or 2013.