Mead: A Honey of a Wine
The label on a bottle of Mead will tell a lot about what it was made with, besides the honey. It is says Cyser, is has apples or grape juice, Hippocras is grape juice and spices, Metheglin is usually cloves and/or cinnamon, but it can be other similar spices, Melomel means fruit juices, sometimes with spices as well. Pyment is grape juice. Sack means extra honey and traditional is honey, water and yeast.
Mead that is a blend of different honeys will have a more balanced and complex flavor. The flavor of different Meads is influenced by the type of flowers the honey was made from, so a Mead from one area can taste entirely different than one from another. For example orange blossom is pleasant, but very strong. Buckwheat is so strong, it can overpower any other flavor. Blending either one of them with a honey that does not have a heavy flavor, such as clover or wild flower, will tone them down.
Whether the Mead is sweet or dry is determined by three factors: the type of yeast, the quantity of honey and how long it is allowed to ferment. Adding citric, malic, or tartaric acids will also help to get the wine more in balance. The wine maker has one more option that will affect the features of the Mead. If it is allowed to ferment in the bottle, or if carbon dioxide is added, it will become a sparkling wine. If neither is done, it will be a still or regular wine.
Mead goes with salmon, chicken, turkey and as a dessert wine. Serving Mead too warm will make it very sweet. Mead should be stored at 55 to 65 degrees. Meade should be served from a decanter, not right from the bottle. This will allow the wine to breathe. The decanter should be one that is especially made for Mead, wide on the bottom with a ribbed neck, which will aerate the wine as it is poured.
Mead also has a place in folk law and tradition. Back in mediaeval times, it was believed that if a newly married woman drank Mead for a month after the wedding, she would have sons. And that is why the time right after the wedding is known as the Honeymoon.
Sources:
Published by Regina Sass
I have been writing, editing and doing advertising online for 10 years. I have been a gardener for more than 50 years. I am a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. View profile
- Ten Interesting Facts About HoneySeptember is National Honey Month. Now I know most of us think of Winnie the Pooh when we think of honey. What? You do not think of Pooh and his many adventures to secure honey for his honey pots? What do you think ab...
Prosecco WineThis is an article about Prosecco, a lesser known light Italian sparkling wine, its characteristics, production, and ideal food pairings.
Health Benefits of Honey Using honey as a sweetener in your foods and beverages may do more that just make it taste good. Honey is also a natural source of healthy antioxidants.- Mead Making: An Easy Guide for BeginnersThe simplest instructions for making one gallon of mead. This guide makes mead making easy for beginners who are new to brewing without expensive equipment.
Sampling Newport's Wine VineyardsCalifornia's wine region isn't the only area that can boast of a bounty of award-winning wines. Newport, Rhode Island, with its coastal climate and fertile soil, is home to thre...
- How to Make Dry Honey Mead: Recipe and Instructions
- How to Make Homemade Wine: Honey Mead
- The Healing Power of Honey
- So You Want to Make Wine?
- The Ancient Art of Mead Making
- The Many Uses of Honey
- Wineries and Wine Tastings in Grand Junction, Colorado
3 Comments
Post a CommentOne of my English classes experimented with making Meade.
Great information for this past student of ancient lit!
:-}
This is so interesting!