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Festina Lente “Mead Made Modern.” Not as Sweet as You May Think

Roslyne Buchanan · August 31, 2023 ·

Opened eight years ago, Festina Lente Estate Winery has expanded five times, evidence its modern approach to making mead is well received. In addition to its popularity with its visitors and Wine Club members, Festina Lente mead is capturing the attention of noted wine critics such as Anthony Gismondi, who was surprised by its elegance.

Beekeepers and Winemakers

When Bill and Teresa Townsley purchased their five-acre hobby farm in Langley, little did they know building their lives as beekeepers and winemakers would be the most physically demanding project they’d ever done and the most rewarding. For them, exploring the lost tradition of mead or honey wines was a natural fit. They applied modern winemaking techniques, and learned what’s old is new again. 

Historically, those ancient folks did not have the sugar in their diets of today so mead was not as sweet as you may have imagined it. Festina Lente offers some 35 different varieties of mead that are dry, off dry, and semi-sweet.

As Teresa jokes, “The cavemen made mead, we just have a better label on the bottle.”

The approach is truly “bee to bottle on the farm,” she notes, “We grow all that we can right here on the farm and what we can’t grow ourselves, we purchase from neighbouring farms. It’s farmers helping farmers and we are considered the craft producer of the wine industry.”

Festina Lente translates from Latin to “make haste slowly” in English, a fitting reflection of the pride and care in all they do.

Among its Benefits, Mead Lasts Longer

Mead offers benefits such as being low in sulphites and having no tannins so can be a suitable substitute for people who suffer from wine headaches. Like some red wines, mead lasts longer: You can age a bottle for at least 50 years and when you do open it, it remains good for about three weeks.

The concept of “the honeymoon” evolved from a medieval tradition to provide newlyweds with a month’s (moon’s) worth of mead to bring good luck, strengthen their bond and stimulate fertility.

No wonder the American Mead Makers Association reports mead as the smallest but fastest-growing component of the US alcohol industry.

Friendly Tasting Room

Known for its friendly tasting room as a Mom-and-Pop operation, Festina Lente is open daily from 11 am to 6 pm. On weekends, you’ll find food trucks on site and live music on Saturdays. Watch for Festina Lente this November at Cornucopia, Whistler’s Celebration of Food and Drink. For all the details, see festinalente.ca

Shop online, book a tasting, and join the Wine Club so you, too, can discover the buzz about carefully crafted mead. 

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