Hidromiel vs. vino: ¿Son lo mismo?

While there is some debate about which of the two beverages was invented first, experts agree that humanity has been enjoying both wine and mead for thousands of years. It seems that once humans discovered how to use yeast to ferment honey and fruit, they quickly experimented and standardized the production process for both drinks. Today, wine and mead experts around the world continue to refine the work of our ancestors to produce truly complex and flavorful varieties.

However, despite their possible shared origins, wine and mead are quite distinct. While mead is colloquially known as "honey wine," it is not actually wine. Similarly, it is incorrect to claim that wines fermented with honey are mead. In fact, it is extremely rare for wineries to produce mead, as each product requires specific ingredients. Furthermore, mead producers typically focus exclusively on perfecting their honey-based products to offer their customers the best possible product.

What is mead?

The production of mead has changed very little since ancient times. Both traditional and modern meads are made with the same basic ingredients: honey, water, and yeast. After mixing these ingredients, mead makers allow the mixture to ferment and mature until it reaches the desired flavor and alcohol content. The resulting beverage is typically pale yellow or golden, slightly sweet, and has earthy notes from the honey. Many meads also feature floral notes thanks to wildflower honey, but darker honeys, such as buckwheat honey, can contribute more intense, nutty nuances.

While the mere mention of mead likely conjures up images of armored Vikings singing and toasting with roast meats and mythical tales, mead most likely originated in ancient China around 7000 BC, according to archaeological evidence. Similar evidence from more recent millennia has also been found in India, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, indicating that mead was consumed throughout the ancient world for thousands of years.

So, while the image of Vikings enjoying mead from beer horns isn't entirely inaccurate, it's far from the first time people gathered around this golden beverage. Often featured in folk tales, mead was also frequently used in rituals and as part of offerings to pagan gods. This reverence may stem from the fact that honey never spoils, which would have seemed miraculous in the ancient world.

What is wine?

In simple terms, wine is a mixture of crushed grapes (or other fruit), yeast, water, and sometimes sugar. This mixture is left to ferment and age to develop its alcohol content and the complex flavor that characterizes wine. Red wines are made from grapes fermented with their skins; to make white wines, the skins are removed during the crushing process. Other fruits, such as blueberries, apples, and even pineapples, can be used instead of grapes to make innovative fruit wines.

Although there are indications that wine appeared in China around 9,000 years ago (possibly alongside mead), definitive evidence of its production doesn't emerge until the sixth millennium BCE in what are now Armenia, Turkey, and Georgia. Artifacts found in these regions include compelling evidence of wine production and storage, such as vessels containing wine sediment, and indications of early grape domestication. This makes sense, as these regions remain renowned for their wine grapes today.

Today, winemakers around the world use these and other carefully cultivated grapes to produce wines with colors ranging from burgundy and pink to gold and pale lemon yellow. These wines also vary in flavor, from intense and dry to light, bright, and sweet. German ice wines are especially sweet, as they are made from grapes that are left to freeze on the vine to enhance their natural sugars.

Common origins of mead and wine (and other similarities)

Both mead and wine are extremely ancient, with origins dating back to the seventh millennium BC. It's difficult to determine which came first, as the earliest discovered wine mixture included grapes mixed with honey and rice. It's possible that grapes were the main ingredient of the beverage, with the rice added as a yeast component and the honey to feed it and facilitate fermentation. However, similar mixtures without grapes have also been discovered, making it difficult to determine whether honey or grapes would have been the predominant flavor.

The process of making mead and wine is very similar. Both begin with a mixture of the main ingredient (honey, grapes, or other fruit) and yeast. This mixture is fermented and left to mature until it reaches the desired alcohol content and flavor profile. Both mead and wine have an alcohol content that ranges from 3% to 23%, depending on the amount of sugar available to the yeast and the maturation time.

Both mead and wine are incredibly versatile and come in a wide variety. For example, a strawberry-flavored mead can pair with a Belgian waffle at brunch just as well as a light, sparkling rosé. Spiced mead and fortified wine can also be heated almost to a boil and enjoyed with a slice of orange on a cold winter evening.

Differences between mead and wine

Although mead is sometimes called "honey wine," it belongs to a category of its own. The main ingredient in wine is fermented fruit juice or crushed fruit. While honey can be added to wine to facilitate fermentation, the resulting beverage must have a predominantly fruity flavor to be considered wine. In contrast, the main ingredient in mead must be honey. Although mead distilleries may add fruit flavorings to their products, they do so to complement the nuances of the honey, not to mask them.

Furthermore, mead is almost always much sweeter than wine, especially red wine. If you prefer a dry red wine to sweeter fortified wines, mead might not be for you. Its flavor is much closer to that of a dessert white wine, such as Moscato or Zinfandel, but with the floral and earthy notes of honey instead of the intense sweetness of grapes or other fruits.

On the contrary, as already mentioned, wine presents a wide range of flavor profiles. Reds typically have notes of dark fruits such as cherries and plums, while whites are often fresh with a citrusy touch. In dry wines, these fruity nuances are almost never accompanied by excessive sweetness, and even sweet wines exhibit a touch of acidity that keeps the flavor complex and refreshing.