Sleeping Bear Farms is Sweet on Mead

Aug. 31, 2014

Earth’s first alcoholic drink has taken Benzie County by storm.

Mead, a honey-based wine discovered by man millennia ago, is now at St. Ambrose Cellars, a brand-new winery, tasting room and production facility opening mid-month.

Owner Kirk Jones – a local beekeeping veteran who also owns Sleeping Bear Farms – branched out into mead and wines four years ago.

Demand soared. Jones made the leap into full-scale production, likely the only winery of its kind in the state using locally sourced fruits and honey, he said.

"I can’t think of another winery in the state that is like us," Jones said. "We have our own press to squeeze fresh juice from local grapes, pears and cherries for our honey and fruit meads. We combine Northern Michigan’s excellent wine grapes with different varieties of honey made from our bees."

In terms of mead production, Michigan is king, said one industry insider.

"In the last five to 10 years mead has really taken off; it’s something different," said Chris Webber, president of the American Mead Makers Association in Lakewood, Wash. "Michigan has more mead-making businesses than any other state."

It’s a trend Jones is tapping into, in more than one way. With 12 taps lining the tasting bar, and wall-to-wall windows behind to showcase the winemaking operation, the tasting room blends Old World architecture with a contemporary twist.

Two large stained glass windows were salvaged from the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City, and a 14-ft. slab of cypress from Florida’s panhandle serves as a second bar.

Matt Frollo, a Michigan State University graduate, is overseeing the winemaking operations. With stints at Chateau Chantal and Peninsula Cellars under his belt, Frollo says the winery is on track to produce more than 10,000 cases annually.

"Meads are slow fermenting and it takes time and patience to produce high-quality meads," Frollo said about the drink, with an alcohol content that hovers between six and 18 percent.

Patience has its virtues. Crescendo, a blended red wine, won two gold medals at the New York Finger Lakes competition this

past spring. In 2010, the Dancing Bare mead, fermented with Riesling grapes, and Sleeping Bear’s own star thistle honey won an award at the Mazer Cup International Mead Competition in Boulder, Colo.

To market the brand, St. Ambrose Cellars is self-distributing throughout Michigan and has recently begun selling in Georgia, said Jones.

"We see our distribution growing every year. We hope to be in 10 states within five years," he said.

In addition to the winery, the new site also includes a post and beam barn built in 1860 that is being renovated as a community center and wedding and event venue.

"It was one of the original carriage houses in the county, for trail horses to rest on their way to Leelanau County," Jones said.

Jones says he has been pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and accommodating local farms and land owners have been to work with.

Local orchards and vineyards use his beehives for pollination. In the winter, he trucks the bees to northern Florida, where he has another full honey producing facility.

"It gives the bees a chance to rejuvenate in a warm climate, which makes the queens stronger and helps them produce more bees," Jones said. "That is also the area where the Tupelo trees grow, so we are able to produce our own rare Tupelo honey."

For more information on St. Ambrose Cellars, visit stambrose-mead-wine.com, or call (231) 882-4456. Hours are Mon.–Sat., 11am– 6pm and Sun., 12-5pm. The winery is located at 841 Pioneer Rd., Highway 677, Beulah.