Press Release – Honey River Pyment wins Gold Medal in 2020 Mead Crafters Competition

Randolph County Winery Honored With Gold Medal In National Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19th, 2020

CONTACT: Ben McKean

304-227-4414

healthberryfarm@frontiernet.net

DRYFORK, West Virginia — Healthberry Farm awarded a Gold medal in the Pyment category in the 2020 Mead Crafters Competition for their Honey River Pyment.

“We are proud to represent West Virginia by winning this award,” says Healthberry Farm’s owner, Ben McKean. “This wine is made with 100% West Virginia grown ingredients, and represents a long tradition of mead-making in the region.”

Ben studied under Master Meadmaker Ferenc “Frank” Androczi, proprietor of Little Hungary Winery in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Frank learned the winemaking practice from his family in Hungary. He is most remembered for the grape and honey wine he bottled simply as “Melomel.” In 1999, Ben began a formal apprenticeship through Augusta Heritage Center to learn this heritage craft from Frank.

Frank continued to be Ben’s mentor and friend. After Frank’s death, Ben began Honey River, his own line of meads and melomel. Honey River Pyment employs the traditional name for honey wine with grape juice, and is an homage to Frank’s own beloved melomel.

Since creating Honey River, Ben has stayed true to Frank’s traditional methods. He does not add sulfites, chemicals, sugar or other additives. He grows and harvests his own ingredients, from the honey to the various fruits, or else sources them from regional farmers. “Frank was doing things in the old-world way. He didn’t know the word organic, but his practices came from a time before chemicals were readily available to small farmers.”

This dedication to sourcing “better than organic” ingredients led Ben to collaborate with Hank Kopple, a grape-grower in Lehmansville, West Virginia. Honey River’s Gold Medal-winning Pyment is made with Kopple’s Chambourcin grapes. Ben ferments the grapes as whole berries, a tradition he learned from Paul Roberts at Deep Creek Cellars in Friendsville, Maryland. Ben uses his own Tulip Poplar varietal honey before aging the wine for at least two years. This allows the wine to be bottled without adding sulfites.

The Mead Crafters Competition, organized by the National Honey Board, received over 300 entries for their annual competition. In 2019, Healthberry Farm was awarded a silver medal for their Basswood Mead.

Healthberry Farm encourages visitors. Tours and tastings are by appointment only.  Please plan ahead to schedule a tasting while on your next trip to Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks or Canaan Valley by calling 304-227-4414. A list of regional distributors can be found at Healthberryfarm.com/contact

Read more at healthberryfarm.com/news  

• Making Mead – Elkins Intermountain, 11/2019
• West Virginia’s Honey River Treasures its Old World Style – American Bee Journal, 2/2015 
• Generating a Buzz and Making Mead video – Charleston Gazette, 10/2014