810 Meadworks wins 2 big honors in international mead competition
Photo courtesy of Thom Jennings: Bryan DeGraw is shown with winning meads produced by 810 Meadworks in Medina.
MEDINA – A Medina meadery has won two international awards for its mead, including the top honor for Scarlett A.
810 Meadworks made that fermented mead with cranberries, blueberries and cider. It won the gold medal, beating out 13 other entries in the cyzer category which include mead made with apples.
Bryan DeGraw, co-owner and meadmaker, also was awarded a bronze medal for Sweet Devotion. It was third out of 36 entries in the fruit/vegetable melomel – semi-sweet category. That mead from 810 Meadworks features currants.
DeGraw and his wife LaRissa opened 810 Meadworks in downtown Medina about six years ago. This is the first time the business has been recognized with a gold medal at the Mazer Cup International, a contest held annually in Denver.
Normally the results are announced in March, but the judging was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The winners were announced on Oct. 2.
“I completely forgot about it,” DeGraw said about the competition.
He said a post about the results on the group’s Facebook page and felt humbled to be recognized by the industry.
“the beauty of it is the judges are primarily mead makers,” DeGraw said. “It’s an award of your peers. So I’m very proud of it.”
810 Meadworks has seen an uptick in orders for the winning meads and others since the results were announced.
He acknowledged mead is niche in the alcohol industry, but is on the rise. When 810 Meadworks opened six years ago, there were about 150 meaderies in the United States. Now there are about 600. In New York, it has grown from five to more than 20 during that time.
810 Meadworks has a tasting room/mead bar open Friday through Sunday at 113 West Center St. It has partnered with Sourced Market & Eatery to have sandwiches available to meet guidelines from the state for consuming alcohol.
For more of the Mazer Cup, click here.
