Sweetness Levels
Medovina meads are classified according to the sweetness of
the finish on each label. Medovina’s unique sweetness barometer
on the back of the label will tell you at a glance what the
level of sweetness is. Here’s how to read the barometer.
The first thing to keep in mind is that mead is generally sweeter
than wine. Whether you prefer bone dry wines or dessert wines,
it is likely that your favorite mead will be just a touch sweeter
than your favorite wine. Next bear in mind that there is no
standard gauge for sweetness in the mead industry. This is currently
a hot topic of discussion and a standard is likely to be agreed
upon in the next year or so. In the meantime Medovina meads
are classified in a relative sense and thus our classifications
may not agree with those used by other meaderies. The best way
to explain this is to use a ski area analogy. Each ski area
ranks its ski runs as beginner (green), intermediate (blue)
or expert (black). However, these are relative scales and a
blue run at Jackson Hole is likely to be more difficult than
a blue or even black run at Winter Park or Keystone. With that
in mind, Medovina classifies its mead according the following
sweetness levels:
Dessert - this is a wonderfully sweet mead
- rich, with great legs and mouth watering sweetness. The closest
wine analogy would be an Eiswein, TBA (trockenbeerenauslese)
or BA (beerenauslese). A nice way to enjoy this type of mead
would be as a sipping dessert or with a dessert, or perhaps
with an after dinner cheese plate. Other wine analogs might
be the dessert wines produced in Washington State, Oregon and
California.
Semi Sweet – this is a medium sweet mead.
It has not only a sweet finish, but also an immediate sweet
taste as it engages your palate. The closest wine analogies
would range between an Kabinett Reisling on the low end of the
sweetness range to an Auslese Reisling on the upper end of the
range. If you like white wines with a sweet finish, you may
find that this is a good place to start your mead tasting adventures.
Off Dry – this mead has a mildly sweet
finish, but is not dominated by sweetness. Alcohol and acidity
are very evident. Our off dry meads probably have the most neutral
balance of alcohol, acidity and sweetness. In other words, you
will easily experience all of these taste factors as the mead
advances from the tip of your tongue, to the roof of your mouth,
to the back of the tongue and finally as you swallow it. If
you like fairly dry wines like Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc you
will mostly likely enjoy this level of sweetness in a Medovina
mead. Some of our tasters have said that Off Dry Medovina meads
remind them of Chardonnay without the oak.
Dry – this is a mead lover’s mead.
It is strong, alcoholic and intense. There is no hint of sweetness
on the palate. The acidity is low compared to a dry white wine
so the dominate taste is alcohol. It is great with food and
it does not wear out your palate. What I mean by this is that
if you like this sort of high alcohol mead you can drink a fair
amount of it without feeling saturated as you might with a sweeter
alcoholic beverage.
Most Medovina meads
are best served at cellar temperatures or slightly chilled.
We often do our taste tastes at meadery temperatures which range
from 62 F to 64 F.