Recipes & Food Pairings

There really is no hard and fast list of “do's and don'ts” about pairing mead with a particular meal. After all, the most important question is “Do you enjoy the wine and food that you are eating?” That said, we do have some suggestions...

Bed of Roses

Serve over ice with fresh fruit or mix with champagne or seltzer water. Pair with salty or oily dishes, intense flavors, strong cheeses, creamy desserts, dark chocolate or spicy dishes. Our most exotic beverage to go with your romantic evenings. This is the tailor-made wine for Valentine's Day.

Recipe: White Sangria
1 Bottle Bed of Roses mead
1 shot white rum
1 Lemon cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
1 pound peaches, pitted and sliced
3/4 cup seedless green grapes, halved
3/4 cup pineapple
2 cups ginger ale
In a large pitcher, combine Bed of Roses, rum, and sugar. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into
the mix and toss in lemon wedges (excluding seeds). Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced
peaches, green grapes, and pineapple.  Refrigerate sangria until well chilled, at least 2 hours, or
overnight to blend flavors.  Add ginger ale just before serving. Serve over ice. 

Dusky Vine

This complex wine pairs well with Thai food, Indian food, curry spices, coconut milk, pork tenderloin, steak, mushrooms and eggplant. Having a cookout? This wine has the boldness to perfectly complement your grilled meats.

Recipe: Mulled Yuletide Mead
1 Bottle Dusky Vine mead
One sliced Orange
¼ C Brandy
8 whole Cloves
¼ C Wildflower Honey
3 each Cinnamon Sticks
2 tsp Allspice Berries
Combine all ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker. Gently warm the ingredients on low to medium heat - don't let it boil! - for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the honey has dissolved. When the mead is steaming and the ingredients are well blended it is ready to serve.

Summer Sunset

Pair with light appetizers, salads, soft cheeses, Southwestern style dishes, salmon and tuna, and subtle, softer tasting foods and dishes. Also, the sweet raspberry flavor just begs to be paired with a rich dark chocolate.

Recipe: Campsite Punch
1 Bottle Summer Sunset
2 cup cranberry juice cocktail
Juice from 2 limes
1 qt seltzer
A quick and easy summer punch. Mix ingredients right before serving. Serve over ice.

Harvest Fruit Cyser

For special feasts with home made cakes or pies for dessert, such as Thanksgiving, then Harvest Fruit is your best sweet wine choice. Pair also with apple pie, roasted turkey, buttery and creamy dishes, barbecued chicken or dishes using onions or garlic.

Recipe: Glogg
1 bottle Harvest Fruit Cyser
1 cup orange juice
10 cardamom seeds
5 whole cloves
3 pieces fresh or dried orange peel
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2” cinnamon stick
1 cup raisins
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
In a large pot, pour Harvest Fruit Cyser. Add rest of ingredients. Cover and warm over low heat until the mixture just begins to simmer, then remove from heat. Don’t let the Glogg boil!
Put mixture through the sieve to strain. Serve warm in wine glasses with a few raisins and almonds
in each glass.

Melissa's Garden

Best paired with light, summery fare such as fruit salads, mediterranean foods, and grilled seafood. The tea and herbal notes complement smoked meats, too. And don't forget dessert; a delightful accompanyment to berry cheesecakes and custards.

Recipe: Queen of the Hive
1 oz Gin
2 oz Melissa’s Garden
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
Shake with ice in mixing glass, then strain into a Collins glass. Garnish with lemon balm or mint.

Mulberry Muse

A full-bodied fruity accompanyment to pork dishes, Mulberry Muse shines here; also with zesty chicken dishes. Roasted root vegetables and heavier vegetarian entrees also receive a boost paired with this mead. The dark berry character also goes well with baked desserts like cobbler.

Recipe: Mulberry Cobbler
2 oz Mulberry Muse
3 oz Seltzer water
1 tsp Superfine Sugar
2 or 3 Orange slices
Add oranges and sugar to a mixing glass, muddle. Add Mulberry Muse and ice, shake. Strain into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice and seltzer water.
Add seltzer water. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Warm Hearth

Add zest to your everyday chicken dish and salads with a glass of Warm Hearth. It can also work splendidly with sharp cheddar cheese, all types of seafood, creamy sauces, dishes using spices like sage, thyme, oregano, and can pair well with heavier dishes.

Recipe: Drunken Viking Chicken
1 Roasting Chicken
10 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 lemon, halved
Vegetable Oil or Lard
Salt and Pepper
1 bottle Warm Hearth
Place chicken in roasting pan. Stuff the cavity with garlic and lemon halves. Rub underneath chicken skin with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour Warm Hearth over the chicken and roast at 350 degrees until done, basting every 20 minutes.
You may need an extra bottle of Warm Hearth for drinking while the chicken roasts!