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Mead.

Beekeeper here too. I make about 30 bottles a year from the cappings wax and waxy dregs at the end of the settling tank. Results are variable year to year and I am not systematic enough to identify cause and effect. It takes me about 2.5 to 3 years from start to bottling and would agree that it is largely a waste of good honey. Now that I have a more efficient extractor (so less dregs) I probably will decrease production.
 
gintonic said:
I would be interested in hearing why, IYO Tokaji is "run of the mill".
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I used to work with Hugarians as Tungsram gradually absorbed the UK arm of GE USA and a couple of bottles came back to the UK via various routes as a consequence. I have also bought Tokaji, and furmint, here in the UK.

To me Tokaji is uncomplicated, simple grapey sweet wine, which I do like very much, but it is broadly similar, to me, to some generic Sauterne, lots of simple sweet muscats (OK, it is not a muscat, although a muscat is one potential ingredient in Tokaji).

I would think it very highly unlikely that a student would bring back a very expensive Tokaji as an applology, but I have no idea how expensive the bottles that come back via work were, expect that we were assured that they were good quality.

Lots more interesting sweet wines out there at modest price anyway.
 
gintonic said:
there is "Tokaji":and "Tokaji".
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What's the difference if the spelling is the same?

Vinny said:
I would think it very highly unlikely that a student would bring back a very expensive Tokaji as an apolology,
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No, I'd agree, but it was the first time I'd had it. I subsequently spent a fair bit buying one in the supermarket and was most disappointed. Money didn't really mean a lot to this lady, who had recently married (to a rich Magyar?) and she was furnishing their new flat. Two trips that I knew about from Ramsgate to her home town in a month; that's not peanuts in travel costs. This, I guess, was in the mid/late nineties. We rarely had Hungarians, so I remember her as being Hungarian posh; more Buda than Pest, I feel.
 
There's the rather rare Royal Tokaji Essencia, which is very pricey. A doctor colleague was married to a Hungarian lady, & she had a supply, which my colleague always promised to bring me a bottle of but never did in the end. It's very sweet, and very low alcohol. Not that I drink anything alcoholic anyway...
 
Mike Reed said:
I subsequently spent a fair bit buying one in the supermarket and was most disappointed.
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Have you tried a few sweet wines in general? Could you describe why you found the Tokaji so pleasant, or what it seemed to go with in terms of food?
 
Vinny said:
Have you tried a few sweet wines in general? Could you describe why you found the Tokaji so pleasant, or what it seemed to go with in terms of food?
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Gosh, Vinny; this was a generation ago. No, the occasional (1 in 3 years?) sherry or port; that's it as I don't like dessert wines or even liquers nowadays, or even very late picking (ausleser/spatleser?) German wines, Muscat, etc. That Tokaji was good. I bought yet another about 5 years ago but it wasn't that brilliant. Think I probably cooked fruit in it.

It's a bit like the Polish mead. The first was extraordinary; the second was just very good.
 
LLOL

I love dessert wines, and am always curious as to what those who say that they don't like them, have tried.
I am no fan of dry wines either, in general, and had no real taste at all for bubbles until I found demi-sec.Finding demi-sec French bubbles takes some searching but are easy enough to find if you do. Semi-seco Cava is a lunatic bargain altough choice would require import - I had a case of mixed (my choice) from Spain a month or so back and one, at around £3.50 bottle price, is totally glorious with seafood.

For the Prosecco fans - that is made only as Brut, and in humungous stainless vats. Cava is made by the same method as Champagne and differs only in the grapes allowed. For me, a high percentage of Xarel.lo is a good place to start with Cava.
 
Mead is a lovely drink and best consumed by the pint. Myself and a mate who fancied himself as a "Viking" and was in a recreation society got a local pub to get Lindisfarne mead in quantity and a special price and it started to catch on but then the pub was sold:(
 
I consumed a whole bottle of mead one Christmas when I was suffering from a heavy cold. Figured that the honey content would soothe my site throat. I felt much better afterwards :)
 
Tried mead from Fallentimber Meadery in Alberta. Made in the cold fermentation of lager - very dry and totally delicious. We went to a local food festival on their farm and drank it all night. I would try it again.
 
KrisW said:
How long afterwards?
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Haha in all honesty I don't recall as it was years ago, but I was definitely left with the impression that mead is good for a sore* throat. Of course I might have got the same result from drinking whisky, brandy, whatever. I think that's the only occasion I've knowingly been in the same house as a bottle of mead actually.

* Not sure why 'sore' changed to 'site' in my previous post, clumsy fingers combined with autocorrect probably!
 
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