It was cloudy and raining yesterday; without the sun the autumn leaves don’t have the same brilliance. So we chose a couple of destinations we felt would be good for a yucky day.
First stop, Artesano Meadery (http://www.artesanomead.com/). We walked in the door with absolutely no idea what mead is. Upon arrival, we took a tour of the meadery, a small-scale operation. We learned that the mead starts with honey, water, and yeast; other flavors, such as fruit and spices, are added later. The fermenting and holding tanks are all named after gods and goddesses related to alcohol; for example, one tank is named Dionysus, the Greek god of the grape harvest. Mead was once known as the nectar of the gods, explaining the naming of the tanks.
The operation is very hands-on; each bottle is placed by hand to be filled and to be corked. Labels are placed onto the bottles by hand. The entire production facility is in an area less than 1,000 square feet.
After the tour, we sampled the meads. We tried Essence Dry Mead, Blueberry Mead, Blackberry Mead, Traditional Mead, Poets’ Mead and Traditional Cyser. I tried to like it, I really did. But at the end of the day, I must say I have no need for mead.