WOOD made mead

WOOD Manchester is renowned for using top-quality seasonal produce to create imaginative dishes, accompanied by expertly chosen beers, wines and spirits, and now the team at Masterchef winner Simon Wood’s first restaurant are getting in on the distilling action by partnering with Timperley-based C&O Wines to make their own mead.

Mead is an alcoholic drink that tastes not unlike a cross between beer, wine and rum. It’s made, traditionally, by fermenting honey with water, yeast and different fruits, spices, grains or hops, meaning the WOOD range will be able to offer a variety of flavours and strengths (it can be as low as 3.5% ABV and as high as 20%). And while mead is often called honey-wine, Simon and co will be creating their own veggie and vegan-friendly versions, usually made by substituting honey with agave nectar, which, we’re told, is pretty much the closest to a honey-like substance that exponents of a plant-based diet can get.

Recommended by the 2019 edition of the MichelinGuide Great Britain & Ireland and recipient of Two AA Rosettes, WOOD offers a relaxed dining experience and will link inperfectly with family importers C&O Wines. Specialist suppliers to the hospitality industry, with a long history of serving independent hotels, restaurants and bars throughout the North West and further afield, they have expanded beyond importing purely from vineyards and now deal with artisan small batch distilled local gins – and mead.

Find out more about WOOD here.