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Sparkling Mead
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Wildflower Sparkling Mead | Traditional Method
£25.00 Add to cart -
Small Bottles of Mead | Traditional Method Wildflower Sparkling 37.5cl
£14.00 Add to cart -
Sparkling Rosé Mead | Traditional Method
£27.50 Add to cart -
Heather Sparkling Mead | Traditional Method
£32.00 Add to cart -
Mead Gift | Heather Sparkling Mead & Honey Chocolate Truffles
£42.50 Read more -
Mead Gift | 37.5cl Wildflower Sparkling & Honey Chocolate Truffles
£25.00 Read more -
Mead Gift | Rosé Sparkling & Honey Chocolate Truffles
£38.00 Read more -
Mead Gift | 75cl Wildflower Sparkling & Honey Chocolate Truffles
£35.50 Read more
Sparkling Mead | Traditional Method
Sparkling Mead is created in the same vain as Champagne, mead produced by Northumberland Honey Co is a very different offering to most meads.
Production time is in excess of 2 years, following a primary fermentation and a secondary fermentation. Synonymous with the production of fine sparkling wines and Champagne, yet rather than being made with grapes, Sparkling Mead is produced from honey. This enables sparkling mead to be very sustainable, and in fact has helped to increase our bee numbers year on year since it’s inception in 2015.
Explore the finest Sparkling Mead, with the upmost provenance, flavour, history and story
Honey For Mead
Using the right honey for mead is crucial to the end result and quality of the mead.
We are fortunate in that we produce all our own honey for our meads. Using spring honey in the Wildflower, summer honey in the Rosé and Heather honey in the Heather Mead.
In the same way that different grapes give a different wine, different honey gives a completely different flavour of mead. With this in mind too, every season is slightly different depending on the different forage that is naturally available to the bees which is often constrained by weather. This is an interesting concept as it is likely as we progress through the years of producing Sparkling Mead we will gain a real appreciation for what is a ‘vintage year’ in terms of the quality of the honey and resulting quality of the Sparkling Mead. Something we are studying closely.
Traditional method for Mead Production
The meadery at Haltwhistle houses rows upon rows of bottles undergoing the traditional method. The traditional method involves a second fermentation inside the bottle, essentially the same process that is used to create Champagne and sparkling wines. Naturally the yeast has to be removed, via a process called riddling. Riddling involves gently turning the bottles over many weeks until all the yeast is in the next/cap of the bottle.
Following this process disgorging takes place. Disgorging is the processes of removing yeast from the bottle. Yeast removal is obtained by freezing the bottle neck/cap at around -25 degrees celcius. The cap is removed (containing the yeast), and the final cork/ wirehood is put in place.
Producing Sparkling Mead in the traditional method is a labour of love, taking 2-3 years to produce a bottle, with special vintages now ageing for over 5 years.
The decision to make a traditional method Sparkling Mead was to show just what quality product the bees can produce, with every bottle a signature of that particular honey variety and season, naturally slightly changing from year to year.
It’s amazing to think, no grapes at all are used in this process, simply honey, spring water and yeast. Which also means mead is gluten free!
Sparkling Mead Varieties
You can find all the varieties of Sparkling Mead either below or on the online shop.
Each variety in essence follows our seasons. Starting with Wildflower produced from Spring Wildflower Honey, Rosé from the Summer wildflower and tree honey, and finally Heather from the end of the season made from the finest Heather honey.
Each variety is completely different, reflecting the honey. Wildflower being the driest, Rosé carrying subtle sweetness with a dry finish, and Heather being a bold deep honey giving the most complex character of them all.
If you’re looking for the one most comparable to a brut Champagne, then Wildflower Sparkling is the way to go, and for something sweeter, the Heather Sparkling. Rosé is brilliant in that it is technically dry, but the Hibiscus flowers really bring out the honey aroma and flavours giving a nice botanical edge to a very special Rosé Sparkling.
Reviews
Best thing we ever did was find the Northumberland Honey company at Holker market , we bought 6 mixed bottles and that was it we are hooked
You can enjoy for any occasion, can really taste the honey , great to have different ones to try and appreciate the flavour variations
The mead was excellent and gave a new and refreshing slant to the taste of mead in general.
Having partaken the arduous duty of tasting variants of mead from traditional and complex to more contemporary and younger, we found your product to be not just a match but a veritable leader in that arena.
My order arrived within days, and the quality is excellent. Thank you.
5 stars!! All delivered perfectly - brilliant to be supporting your ethos / love it!!!😍
Beautiful! It was amazing
Thanks again as always for a great service and wonderful products
Absolutely delighted !
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