By TR Robertson photos by Brian Robertson
On a past sunny Saturday, Alta Vista Botanical Gardens was the scene of another great event at the Gardens as the 10th Annual Meading at the Garden was held featuring 5 breweries, 15 meaderies, 1 distillery, several wineries and home brewers groups, as well as a number of honey distributors, a chocolatier and a brittle maker and other vendors. This popular event was well attended, as was the VIP Mead Pairing Luncheon that began before the gates opened to the public. The Meading at the Garden was sponsored by the Vista Viking Festival, Bear Roots Brewing, Blue Honey Country Wine and Meads and the Vista Village Pub. The VIP Luncheon was sponsored by the United Plant Growers. Those attending could also purchase tickets for the Raffle and Silent Auction which featured a number of unusual and creative gift items and a home brewers kit. Throughout the afternoon, three bands performed in the Ceremonial Garden area, beginning with Ratio and followed by Occupier and Dead Feather Moon. As patrons entered the entrance to the Gardens, they received arm bands and a ceremonial tasting glass to use at all of the vendor tents for tastings. Also in this entrance area was the food vendors – Psivilized selling a selection of bowl dishes, Cocina Del Carmen selling a variety of Mexican food dishes and Tony Pepperoni Pizzeria.
Prior to the start of Meading at the Garden, 105 guests signed up to participate in the VIP Mead Pairing Luncheon held in the Reception Rose Garden. This 6-course contemporary mead pairing luncheon featured dishes prepared by Chef Will Valentine from Paon. Each course was paired with meads from 6 different meaderies or breweries. The luncheon began with a Lemon Sorbet with Shaved Zest and a “Marion Berry” mead from Mead Made Mod. This was followed with a starter of Organic Golden Red Beet Salad with Goat Cheese paired with “Diez Nuts” from Barrel and Stave Brewing. This mead was made with 10 different nuts and made specially for this festival. Following this was an appetizer of Maine Lobster Bisque and Crostini Ail with Tarragon Drizzle paired with a “Pineapple Express” mead from North County Homebrewers Association. The Main Entrée was a Braised Lamb Shank with Cippolini Onions and Petite Carrots paired with “Bandits Blend”, a Strawberry and Jalapeno Mead from Wild West Mead. The Dessert was a Vanilla Glace with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Black Pepper paired with “Hivemind Pyment”, a Pinot Noir and Brandy-Fortified Pyment from Hidden Hive Mead. Finishing off this delicious luncheon was the Digestif from Blue Honey Wine and Mead of “Elvis Delight”, a Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Mead. These meads were also available for tasting at the mead festival once the gates opened for the regular patrons to Meading at the Garden. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the luncheon. Speaking with Vista District 1 City Councilmember Corinna Contreras, she said the food and the meads were great and everyone was having a good time, as did The Elven Wizard Aaron Pyne, in his full wizard outfit before heading off to his booth to talk about the online Mead Quest Game he created for the event. Alta Vista Botanical Gardens Garden Manager Rusti Dixon said she was excited about this year’s Meading at the Garden and was
especially proud that so many more meaderies are finding out about the event and about Alta Vista Botanical Gardens.
Once the gates opened, those with tickets received arm bands and tasting glasses as they walked up the paved road to the tents lining the road. Each vendor provided various tastings for the meads they were serving, and all were more than willing to talk about their products, their meadery or brewery or whatever they might be serving or providing. There were several vendors selling a variety of honey products and they each had live bees and their combs in small displays. The San Diego Beekeeping had a rescue hive they were taking tasting samples from. A Rescue Hive is a hive taken off of someone’s property to save the hive and protect the homeowner. Bee Man Dan also was selling honey products and was more than willing to talk about the importance of bees in our world.
There were several new meaderies attending this year’s festival. Remeadies Intoxicating Potions from Squaw Valley, California; Sabre Springs Wine and Meadery from Escondido; and Norse Legend Mead from Humboldt all said they were excited to be here for the first time. All of the meaderies and breweries in attendance had created special meads for this event. The other meaderies and breweries in attendance included Arcana Brewing, Barrel and Stave Brewing, Breakwater Brewing, Inzane Brewing, Societe Brewing, Batch Mead, Chubby Cheeks Meadery, Golden Coast Mead, Grafted Cellers, Hidden Hive, Lost Cause, Mead Made Mod, Raging Cider and Mead, Shield Wall Mead, Twisted Horn Mead, Wild West Mead, North County Homebrewers Association and Society of Barley Engineers all served unique and different meads for people to taste. North County Homebrewers Association served 15 different meads and ciders. One nice tasting one was a mead based from cashew nuts. Twisted Horn was serving a hazelnut vanilla bean coffee mead with coffee from Iverson Coffee Roasters, a local coffee distributor. We also tried the Diez Nutz from Barrel & Stave, made using 10 different nuts, cinnamon and two types of vanilla, a most unusual flavor. Also taking part was 117 West Spirits offering tastings for a small fee. They were serving several samples including two new items, a Port Cask Finish and Azulado spirits. You could find every kind of flavor throughout the event, something for everyone.
One of the most popular activities at Meading at the Garden, other than trying the different meads, was to take part in some of the Viking games run by members of the Vista Viking Festival, run by the Nordic Hall Foundation. People lined up to try their hand at ax throwing as they watched Vista Viking Festival members in full costume work as blacksmiths or work in leather work. Information was also available about this year’s Viking Festival, called the Year of the Valkyrie, held at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in Vista on September 20 & 21. Several of the meaderies said they hope to take part in the Vista Viking Festival.
For more information go to www.vistavikingfestival.com.
The annual Alta Vista Botanical Gardens Meading at the Garden has grown since its inception and the large crowd shows this as a popular event for Vista and for Alta Vista Botanical Gardens.
For more information, including taking part in the Meading at the Garden, go to www.altavistabotanicalgardens.org or www.meading.org.
