Mead and Food

food

Tasting Notes

 Mead is the oldest art of fermentation. Consumed by all from kings to peasants mead has gained a reputation as a giver of life, wisdom, courage and strength down through the ages. The term “honeymoon” has been associated with drinking mead during the month long celebration following a wedding in pagan times. In addition to the health giving properties of honey, mead was thought by Romans to lengthen life and to possess unique healing qualities. The ancient Nordic people considered the drinking of mead as a most important aspect of daily life. Legends of great mead halls, feasts and celebrations abound in the cultural histories of the countries of this area. It is the bee’s tireless search for nectar from thousands of blossoms that creates the honey in each bottle of mead. 100% natural honey is diluted with pure water and spices or berry juice to add further dimension and complexity. Special yeast cultures are added to this medieval style of Mead. A fermentation and slow aging process in European oak barrels occurs for up to three years before bottling.

How to Serve Mead

Temperature

  • serve at cellar temperature

Storage

  • once opened, will keep for up to 2 weeks
  • fruit based meads –treated like high quality grape wine

Cellaring

  • straight honey meads will cellar up to 20 years
  • some fruit meads become more sherry like
  • sweeter meads more Sauterne like

Pairing Mead

  • fruit meads pair well with spicy foods
  • like a dry sherry, with a cheese course
  • pastas and light meats
  • sweet meads are good with dessert

 

View Our Tasting Video

Our Meads

GFCF Mead Dinner for Autism 
Stone Pipe Grill, Sooke, BC 2010 
Menu by Chef Trevor Forget

Organic turkey rillette and pistachio pate with cold-pressed exotic greens juice, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and greens -fibre masa tuille
pairing Harvest Melomel

Dungeness crab cake on grilled ghee-brushed GCFC bread, dill hollandaise, lettuce chiffonade, and chardonnay-pickled cucumber with deductions of sweet corn and red pepper juices.
pairing Wassail Gold Sparkling Mead

Woven tapestry of salmon and halibut with fried prawn pakoras on crispy quinoa risotto and roasted squash with green curry coconut cream and spiced mango coulis
pairing Wassail Gold Sparkling Mead

Char-broiled double lamb loin chop with Cognac coconut-cream demi on braised leg and diced potato latke with rutabaga, carrot, and turnip coulis
pairing Brazen Blackberry Melomel

Belgian-chocolate almond torte with Fireweed honey sponge toffee and vanilla bean Better cream
pairing Vintage Sac Fortified Mead

Hotel Grand Pacific - Corn Tasting Menu
Corn and Saffron Frozen Parfait with White Chocolate
Wassail Gold Sack Mead