We at the office yesterday did a mead tasting session with Nitin from Moonshine Meads.
I heard about Meads first time last week as well.
Mead (/miːd/) is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops.[1][2][3] The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV[4] to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage’s fermentable sugar is derived from honey.[5] It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling; dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.[6]
The term honey wine is sometimes used as a synonym for mead,[7][8] although wine is typically defined to be the product of fermented grapes or certain other fruits,[9] and some cultures have honey wines that are distinct from mead.
And…
The earliest surviving written record of mead is possibly the soma mentioned in the hymns of the Rigveda ,[26] one of the sacred books of the historical Vedic religion and (later) Hinduism dated around 1700–1100 BCE.
The meads were terrific, and we are evaluating Moonshine meads for an investment. My favourites were Guava Chilli, Coffee, and Pineapple.
Anyways, the reason I am sharing here is that Nitin mentioned a bunch of very interesting things.
The alcohol in Meads comes from Honey and not Grapes, Barley, Rice etc. Meads doing well could mean more beekeepers & lesser vineyards, which are usually OD’d with fertilizer.
They buy honey at a much higher price. They can afford to do so because they can sell the meads at over Rs 150 a pint.
I will share this link with Nitin from Moonshine and get him to share more details.