The mead flowed and honey was gleefully devoured, as guests at the 2023 Honey and Mead Festival, hosted at the serene Bardolino Artist Retreat, enjoyed storytelling, informative talks about beekeeping, and were regaled with everything they could ever wish to learn about the ancient art of mead making.
The first Saturday of August is World Mead Day, but Lowvelders flocked to the Hermansburg-based retreat a week early for a day of honey and mead celebrations.
From tasting locally made mead, some plain and some infused with hints of chilli, litchi, citrus, and lavender, to trying out the various types of honey, festival-goers were given a reintroduction to the importance of bees and a chance to fall back in love with the decadent taste of honey.
The highlight of the day was the presence of South Africa Mead Masters association members and local honey farmers, who shared samples of their mead and honey products.
During the course of the day, a prize giving ceremony, to celebrate and recognise the hard work of the Mead Masters and Beekeepers, was held and some festival guests took part in yoga, dance, and horse back riding. Guests also supported local by shopping from the various market stalls.
About Mead and the South African Mead Industry
Mead is essentially fermented honey.Â
It is made using a simple combination of honey, water and yeast, and sometimes other flavours will be added to the blend.
It is sometimes referred to as honey wine, but that is not quite accurate. The drink is actually more closely related to beer, while fortified distilled mead is closely related to brandy or even vodka.
While mead can fit itself into a couple of boxes, it is truly in a category of its own.
Although quite a popular drink elsewhere, mead is not the sort of drink that most South Africans are accustomed to ordering on an evening out.Â
The South African Mead industry itself is quite young, having only been established some 30 years ago. And even 3 decades later, the country only has a handful of Mead breweries, known as Meaderies, in operation.
Although the industry is still in its infancy, like everything South Africans put their minds to, local Meaderies are already producing the highest quality mead, and are competing against some of the world’s best. Much of our mead products are exported to Europe, where they are highly sought-after.
It could be the refined taste of mead or it could be the whole aesthetic and rich history that surrounds it, but mead is the fastest growing alcohol in the world.
Other alcohol beverages generally grow at an annual rate of 1% to 2% a year. Mead on the other hand, has over the last decade enjoyed an annual growth rate of 5%. In 2022 alone, mead saw a growth of 8.5%.
As for honey, well it is no secret that our local honey is also hugely popular.
South Africa has some 1 100 small scale beekeepers, and around 35 000 colonies. As of May 2022, South Africa was producing around 2000 tons of honey annually, but the demand was around 3000 tons, which means we still have to import honey on a grand scale to meet demands.
Here in the Lowveld, local honey supplies are bountiful, especially with the myriad of Macadamia nut farms, which rely heavily on the presence of bees.
The Sacred Companionship of Bees and Urban Gardeners
South Africa is home to around 1000 different species of bees.
And as bees fight for their rightful place in a world that is increasingly destroying their natural habitats and food sources, gardeners can play an essential role in their struggle for survival (which is essentially our struggle too, as our survival is very much tied to theirs).
Creating a productive garden is quite possibly the easiest way to help the bees. Not only does having pollinator flowers provide the bees with food, but these flowers also ensure that your vegetable garden flourishes.
Welcoming bees into your home garden will increase the pollination potential of your flowering vegetable plants, ensuring that you have an abundant harvest. And growing beautiful things should always be a priority anyway, as it will make you want to spend more of your time outdoors.
When planning your bee friendly garden, you should include both summer and winter flowering plants. Opting for a couple of annuals and perennials guarantee year round flowers.
Here in the Lowveld perennials like African Blue Basil, Lavender and Strelitzia provide pollen for bees all through the winter. In summer, the addition of Sunflowers, Cosmos and Zinnias, and other easy to grow annuals, will certainly attract the bees.
Gardeners should also think about how they plant their flowers. Bees are attracted to bunches of blooms rather than a single stem. Bees also enjoy the type of garden that is a little more on the messy side, so don’t go overboard with your lawnmower. As a gardener, you should also take care when using pesticides.
You should also include a water feature, even something as simple as a bird bath, to your outdoor space, and keep it filled throughout summer and winter.
