Made with 100% Irish honey, our wildflower mead is the first Irish mead made with Irish honey in 200 years! A beautiful expression of the aromas and flavors of West Cork in summer. One sip will transport you to our local countryside.
At the end of August 2022 we received a beautiful Wildflower Honey from our beekeeper Paul Kelly and this new release was bottled at Easter. Each year, nectar sources bloom at a different time and in different amounts, and the resulting honey is subtly different. Last year, his young orchards also provided a delicate flavor of apples and apple blossoms. So this year 2023 is slightly different from our previous years. Our first vintage was the first Irish mead made commercially from Irish honey in 200 years.
Tasting Notes: This elegant mead is a true expression of traditional Irish hand-crafted semi-sweet mead, full of West Cork hedge flavors and finished at 11% alcohol.
Serving: Light golden color, delicate on the finish, best served on its own, slightly chilled to bring out the subtle honey notes.
Naturally gluten free. Low sulfite content.
mead
Mead is an alcoholic beverage fermented from honey and water, with possibility of addition of other ingredients such as spices or herbs or in combination with fruit juices.
Classical mead
Classical mead is made by fermenting honey and water without any other ingrediences. It keeps its original honey flavour and taste.
Type of honey
Blossom honey or nectar comes from the nectar of various flowers.
Mead fermented from wildflowers nectar honey
Producer Kinsale Mead
Artisanal production of mead from the Irish county of Cork
Artisanal production of mead from the Irish county of Cork. Kinsale Mead is produced in West Cork, at the family mead farm in Barrack Lane, Kinsale (near the site of the Battle of Kinsale in 1601). Each batch is carefully blended, fermented and matured with care and passion and an emphasis on quality and sustainability. Pure honey, local water, yeast and also various fruits are used in this authentic mead, as is traditional.
Kinsale Mead Co was founded by Kate and Denis Dempsey in 2016 to revive the ancient art of mead making and create a world-class range of light and refreshing drinks. They use the best natural ingredients and make their meads dry and vinous with care and passion.
In 2016, they decided to start the journey to open their own business and revive the tradition of mead making in Ireland after 200 years.
They did a lot of research, tried a lot of meads from Europe and America and read a lot of books, both modern and historical. They started lots of small batches at home and tried different honeys, different yeasts, and different combinations of fruits, spices, and herbs. They kept improving the recipes. It was also very important to them how mead goes with food.
Meads have won an amazing number of awards in just a few years, including gold at The International Mazer Cup, which is something of a mead Olympics. They were also delighted with the Irish awards, gold and silver at Blas na hEireann, gold from the Free From Food Awards as the mead is naturally gluten free. They then won the prestigious 2-star (Outstanding) Great Taste Award, a British competition with literally thousands of entries at a very high level, as well as gold and silver at the European Mead Madness Cup. They were also awarded Drink of the Year by the Irish Food Writers' Guild. In the family mead farm, they simply produce world-class mead.
Kinsale (Cionn tSáile, meaning 'Head of the Tide') is a beautiful historic seaside town in West Cork, situated in a safe anchorage where the River Bandon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Today it is known for its historic street, colorful buildings, many fabulous cafes, gastropubs and restaurants, bookstores, yachting, fishing and world-class golf.