From Paperwork to Pouring: Our Journey to Opening a Texas Meadery
Opening a meadery in Texas isn’t just about honey and barrels — it’s about navigating paperwork, filing deadlines, and learning from every hiccup along the way. When we started Vinland Meads, we couldn’t find a single clear guide, so we pieced it together ourselves with help from fellow mead makers, late nights on Discord, and more than one trip to the Comptroller’s office. From fast TTB approvals to the headaches of label submissions and the surprise of missing eight months of RITS filings, we’ve learned the process the hard way. Here’s our story — and the lessons that might save the next mead maker some time (and a $5,000 penalty).
Blood, Sweat, and Honey: The People Behind Vinland Meads
Making mead the way we do isn’t quick, easy, or clean. It’s sweat in the Texas heat, sticky hands from the honey house, and long days over fermenters. It’s family hauling barrels, friends showing up at dawn, and the steady hum of bees in the background. Vinland Meads was built the hard way—by people who cared enough to put their backs into it. This is who we are, how we work, and the reason every bottle carries more than just honey—it carries our story.
Raising a Glass to Our Community: Vinland Meads in the Farmers Markets
At Vinland Meads, farmers markets aren’t just about selling bottles — they’re about shaking hands with neighbors, meeting the growers who supply our fruit, and sharing the centuries-old tradition of mead face-to-face. From our ties to Hays Manor’s honeybees to our collaboration with Heathen Beard Company, market days bring together the farm, the craft, and the community in one place. Whether you discover us under a canopy in the market square or on the shelves of your local wine shop, every pour carries the story of local roots and ancient craft.
A Gentle Awakening at First Light
“Violet Dawn captures the quiet magic of morning—when the air is cool, the berries are ripe, and the hive is just beginning to hum. With tart blueberry and delicate seasonal honey, this mead is bright, crisp, and full of early summer promise. A sip of first light, bottled.”
A Midnight Gift from the Orchard and Apiary
“Crimson Dusk is more than black cherry and honey—it’s a twilight caught in a bottle. Crafted in the brochet style and shaped by the deep summer nectar of Texas, this mead finishes smooth and dark, like the last light slipping over the trees. Each sip is a farewell to the day, and a toast to the stories that begin at nightfall.”
“Bottled Legacy: A First Look at Tribute – The Cemetery Mead”
In the heart of a forgotten cemetery in Ben Wheeler, Texas, a fallen oak revealed a secret hive—ancient, queenless, and filled with the darkest honey we’ve ever seen. That moment sparked the beginning of Tribute, a mead unlike any other. Five years in the making, hand-bottled in artisan glass, and released in a series of just 25—this is the story of how legacy, loss, and oak-aged patience became the soul of Vinland Meads.
Vinland Mead Hall
Nestled amidst the towering hardwoods of Hays Manor in Murchison, Texas, Vinland Meads Mead Hall emerges as a haven where modern design converges with ancient inspiration.
Our Commitment to QualityHoney for Vinland Meads
At Vinland Meads, honey is the cornerstone of our craft. We meticulously select our honey, starting with the hives at Hays Manor and the Hays Clan Honey Hives. While these are our primary sources, they don't produce enough to meet the demands of Vinland Meads, our family, and our neighbors. Therefore, we partner with select local beekeepers and honey farms to supplement our supply supply.
