Mead in the Movies

If you have never heard of mead, don't feel bad, neither have a lot of people. Mohamed hadn’t when he dictated the Koran. A very entertaining film about Vikings gives us some insight into this. The 1998 film The 13th Warrior, is about an Arab ambassador named Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan who is sent to make contact with the barbaric Vikings of the North in 922 A.D. Only moments after finding the Vikings, a sorcerer sees a vision and chooses 12 Vikings to travel farther north to fight their flesh-eating enemies. She then says that a thirteenth warrior must be a foreigner and Ahmed, whom the Vikings call “Eben,” soon finds himself on his way to fight a formidable enemy. After a gruesome battle with the enemy, one of the Vikings, who was very skeptical of “Eben” in the beginning, offers his new brother in arms a drink from his horn flask. “I cannot, taste neither the fermentation of grape nor of wheat” says Ahmed. The Viking bursts out laughing. “What, why do you laugh.” Says “Eben,” “honey, its made from honey” says the Viking and the Ahmed takes a long drink of the nectar of the gods.

Many of the examples of mead in the movies, which come to mind, involve Vikings and medieval battles with rough and tough characters downing large mugs of mead. Movies like Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Beowulf, as well as the one that I’ve described above, are the most prominent. These depictions are entertaining, but they do not do mead justice. Mead can be made in many different ways, with different amounts of alcohol and varying degrees of sweetness but it is not just a drink for warriors and Vikings.

The meads that Hidden Legend Winery produces will amaze your senses. While the Vikings probably would love them, they can also be enjoyed by kings and queens or anyone who appreciates fine wines. The layers of flavor will keep you sipping once you have tasted this mead and you won’t be able to get enough. The meads at Hidden Legend Winery are made in much the same fashion as a grape wine. They are about 12.5% alcohol and have 2.5% residual sugar. While these are not bone dry, they are certainly not the syrupy sweet meads that you might imagine if you’ve never tried mead. These meads have the mouth feel of a dryer wine with a hint of sweetness and an aroma of honey. It is the honey that gives mead its sweet flavor and not a bunch of residual sugar. If you haven’t tried mead then these are the perfect meads to start with. If you are not really a wine drinker, don’t let that stop you from trying mead because it stands on its own. If you like wine, you will find something recognizable in these meads and appreciate a fine honey wine.