Study and Sip Prairie Rose Meadery’s Honeyberry Haskap

"If you are a fan of semi-sweet red wines, this is the mead for you. This mead took several months to perfect—we tested four different hascap (otherwise known as honeyberry) varieties to get the best flavor of honeyberry—not too bitter yet enough acid to give the mead life. Honeyberry has a nice berry flavor yet gives grape wine-like notes and hints of chocolate. After choosing the variety of hascap I felt had the best characteristics I then played with the balance of hascap to honey as I like both the fruit and honey to come out in the finished mead."

Susan Ruud, Owner Tweet

• honey aroma

• medium-bodied with notes of clover, honey, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry.

• sweet finish with flavors of currant, raisin, and dried fruits.

"Enjoy it for dessert or around a bonfire. It's a perfect nightcap in my opinion!"

- Ashley Serbus, Cellar 624

The Review

To be honest, the last mead I tried was years ago. I hadn’t revisited any because of how syrupy the one I tried had been. Well, let me tell you that is not the case here! The Honeyberry Haskap mead from Prairie Rose was refreshingly light. Immediately on the nose you can smell honey and alcohol. On the palate, the mead was medium-bodied with notes of clover, honey, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry. This mead has a fairly quick finish that is sweet with flavors of currant, raisin, and dried fruits. I know haskap berries can sometimes give off a tart profile as well, but I didn’t encounter much of that in this honey wine. A variety of foods can be enjoyed with this mead. It paired very nicely with manchego, gruyere, and blue cheese, as well as the salami and olives on my charcuterie board. Based on the tasting profile, I believe it would also accompany red meat, tomatobased pasta, spicy fare, or mushrooms. Knowing I was going to be enjoying a sweeter wine I went out and bought myself a slice of cheesecake, and the pairing was delightful! I am so glad I have been reintroduced to meads, and how great that we have a tasting room full right here in Fargo! I look forward to visiting Prairie Rose Meadery and trying out all they have to offer. In the meantime, grab a bottle and enjoy it for dessert or around a bonfire. It’s a perfect nightcap in my opinion!