Mead in Poland which the 12th-century chronicler Gallus Anonymus described as "flowing with honey". This abundance of honey and a climate ill-suited for grape growing meant that mead was long more popular than wine. In 996, the Sephardi Jewish traveller Ibrahim ibn Yaqub wrote that "besides food, meat and land for ploughing, the country of Mieszko I abounds in mead, which is what the Slavic wines and intoxicating drinks are called". In the 15th century, the Venetian diplomat Ambrogio Contarini observed that "having no wine, [the Poles] make a certain drink out of honey, which intoxicates people much more than wine." The 16th-century
Lindisfarne Mead contains pure natural water from an artesian well and grape juice. Lindisfarne Mead has its roots in medieval days, when monks inhabited the island of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island. The belief was that if the soul was in God's keeping, the body must be fortified with Lindisfarne mead. However, more recent production of Lindisfarne Mead started in 1962, and now the mead and preserves made are sold throughout the UK and elsewhere. St Aidan's Winery has a showroom that first opened for visitors in 1968, offering free sampling daily and stocking speciality food and drink. It also has