Mead ingredients of alcoholic beverages led to commercial mead becoming a more obscure beverage until recently. Some monasteries kept up the old traditions of mead-making as a by-product of beekeeping, especially in areas where grapes could not be grown. The English "mead" – "fermented honey drink" – derives from the Old English "meodu" or "medu", and Proto-Germanic, *"meduz" (source also of Old Norse mjöðr, Danish mjød, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch mede, Old High German metu, German Met "mead"). "Madh", and the related terms "mad" (मद, مد) and "madira" (मदिरा, مدِرا), also mean alcohol. These words are all derived from the
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