Wine - Mead - Mead Folklore

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Oklahoma's First Commercial Meadery!

                    (Founded 2008)

Mead - Fermented Honey
Click here for Mead folklore

Summerside Winery became Oklahoma's 1st Meadery in 2008. We introduced our "Wild Betty" in 2009 and released five mead varieties in 2010.

The honey for our meads come from a variety of places including wildflower and alfalfa honey from Oklahoma Bee Keepers.

Today, our fine meads are available to taste and purchase at Summerside Winery in Vinita and can be found at many Renaissance Fairs, Celtic Fairs, and Scottish Games.

MEAD LIST

Produced and bottled on site at Summerside Vineyards, Winery & Meadery.

Semi-Dry

• Cyser (Oklahoma Wildflower/Alfalfa honey and apples)

Semi-Sweet

• Pyment (Oklahoma Wildflower/Alfalfa honey and grapes)
• Melomel ("Wild Betty") (Clover honey and wild blackberries)

Sweet

• Traditional (Orange Blossom honey only/carbonated)

Mead Folklore

Mead wine is the oldest alcohol containing drink known to man. In prehistoric times, honey would drip from beehives and collect in pools of rainwater. Wild yeast would consume the sugar and produce the nectar of the gods. Almost every civilization has lore and myths associated with the consumption of mead.

Just the mention of it evokes images of heroes and romantic tales, of castle feasts and chivalry. Legends surround the golden nectar swirling in a goblet chased with silver, and the heady, erotic aroma of honey caressing the senses. We see Vikings, downing great tankards of frothy mead after a successful raid. One can imagine a beautiful maiden, holding the stirrup cup in her lithe hand, offering it along with a shy smile to the handsome and chivalrous knight preparing to go off to battle.

Mead is often referred to as the Nectar of the gods, or the Drink of Love. Legend has it that the word honeymoon originated with pagan wedding celebrations where dancing and drinking mead were non-stop, sometimes for as long as an entire moon cycle. Mead was considered a beverage that enhanced fertility, growth, and especially the birth of a male child. What could be more appropriate for our celebrations than a drink that celebrates nature?

We hope you truly enjoy our Summerside Mead as much as we enjoyed producing it for you.