Lindisfarne Mead

Lindisfarne Mead is a fortified honey alcoholic drink from Northumberland in North East England, with links to the monks of Holy Island. It is made exclusively in St Aiden's Winery on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.^[1]

Like other mead, Lindisfarne mead is fermented from honey. However it is also vatted with fermented grape juice, herbs, natural well water and fortified with fine spirit. The honey which is used in the production of Lindisfarne Mead is drawn from around the world as well as from the island. Unlike other traditional mead, Lindisfarne mead is actually a hydromel because it contains pure natural water from an artesian well and grape juice.

History

Lindisfarne Mead has its roots in medieval days, when monks inhabited the island of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island. The belief was that if the soul was in God's keeping, the body must be fortified with Lindisfarne mead. However, more recent production of Lindisfarne Mead started in 1962, and now the mead and preserves made are sold throughout the UK and elsewhere. St Aidan's Winery has a showroom that first opened for visitors in 1968, offering free sampling daily and stocking speciality food and drink. It also has close links with Lindisfarne Craft Shop which sells hand thrown and crafted Northumbrian Pottery, Celtic jewellery, Celtic throws, glassware and pewter.

In 2006, after four decades of negotiations, the company producing Lindisfarne Mead, Lindisfarne Ltd, was given permission to export its mead to the United States. US authorities had claimed that Lindisfarne mead, as it contained grapes and herbs, was not mead by their definition. It was reported that the product was to be exported to the USA under the name Lindisfarne mede,^[2] in order to differentiate it from honey-only meads.

See also

• Lindisfarne
• Lindisfarne mead official website
• US lifts 40-year ban on monk ale
• Lindisfarne mead heads for the US

References