What is Honey Wine?
You might have seen the mention of “honey wine” on Shark Tank, Season 12 Episode 5 and thought, “Is that a REAL thing?” Oh yes, yes it is. Honey wine has been produced for thousands of years dating all the way back to 5,000 BC, when bears were caught getting drunk on a muddy honey puddle that had fermented. Vikings also took a liking to mead, which is why “mead” is commonly mentioned in medieval TV (like Game of Thrones!).
The traditional name for honey wine is mead. Mead is alcohol made from 60% or more fermented honey. Typically made from honey, water and yeast, but can contain fruits, spices and herbs. It’s incredibly versatile, but typically made in a wine process. It can be sweet or dry and range in alcohol from low ABV (4% alc by vol) to high ABV (23% alc by vol). Mead is naturally gluten free and can retain all the healthy honey characteristics (allergens, anti-oxidents, antibacterials, etc). It is often considered a “healthy” alcohol especially in comparison to beer, wine and spirits. Ready to try? Order some award winning honey wine (mead) from Batch Mead in California!
Honey Wine Company on Shark Tank Achieves $750,000 for 40% of Business
Bee D’Vine a “honey wine” producer out of Sonoma, CA appeared on Shark Tank, the episode aired Nov 13, 2020. Ayele Solomon touted his product as “not wine and not mead” but a style of t’ej (an Ethiopian style of honey wine). Shark Tank investors agreed to $750K investment for 40% stake, but as of July 2021 none of the Shark Tank investors had moved forward with the investment. Typically post the show, the sharks do a deep analysis of each company before moving forward.
T’ej Honey Wine
Tej is traditionally made from three main ingredients; honey, water and a medicinal shrub called Rhamnus prinoides. This medicinal shrub is made up of herbs and spices, some of which are only found in Ethiopia. Meads usually do not contain this medicinal shrub.
Should You Try Mead (Honey Wine)?
YES! Everyone should try mead at least once. It has a unique flavor profiles and there’s something for everyone. Batch Mead in Temecula CA is a small husband-wife team making small batch craft meads from local honey and real fruit. We’ve won several awards in the short two years we’ve been open! See meads (honey wine) for purchase below!
