Mead Wine Information

Mead is a honey wine, with origins obscured in the mists of time. It's considered by many to be the first alcoholic beverage created, predating both grape wine and beer. It was mentioned in Beowulf and known to the Greeks and Romans. The Romans knew mead as 'ambrosia' and felt it was sent to them by the gods. Romans would also add honey directly into still wine, as a sweetener, to create sort of a mulled wine drink.

Mead is perhaps best known as the drink of the Celts and Vikings. Norse warriors would expect to find women with mead in the afterlife of Valhalla. For all of these reasons, mead is beloved by reenactors everywhere as an authentic drink of the medieval times.

In fact, mead is at the root of the term "honeymoon"! When a couple was married, they would traditionally drink mead for the month after the wedding. This was supposed to help produce a baby boy.

There are various styles of mead:

• Cyser: Mead with apples or grape juice added
• Hippocras: Mead with grape juice and spices
• Metheglin: Mead with cloves, cinnamon, or other spices
• Melomel: Mead with fruit juices and perhaps spices
• Pyment: Mead with grape juice added
• Sack: Extra-honey meads (note this term also applies to Sherry!)
• Traditional: simply honey, water, and yeast

Mead is generally a light, fruity drink, light yellow in color. It should be drunk very soon after purchase. Mead goes wonderfully with salmon, chicken and turkey. It also tends to do well as a Mulled wine or marinade, as well as a dessert wine.

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All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.