Matt (pictured, above right) continued beekeeping as a hobby, having bought a few hives from his mentor, while going on to study geology at university. The mead is dry fermented, and then sweetened with a touch of honey, bringing a floral balance to the zesty undertones. There are many, many different recipes, each one using varying types and quantities of three main ingredients.

It’s not hard to understand why and with no other meaderies in south Wales excitement is building – and the Newells have chucked all their chips in on the venture. While it’s been tough they’ve dropped lucky in being able to consult a friend Matt met in Australia who knows everything there is to know about what makes a great boozy beverage. There is a free car park and picnic benches in the garden which has mature and unusual trees and shrubs. The traditional honey-based beverage is blended with delicious festive spices for a warm, comforting drink to enjoy next to a fire so delightful if the weather outside becomes frightful. The Abergavenny Food Festival and the Usk Show are two of the many upcoming events which will again show off much of the posh nosh and fine wine some of the most impressive chefs and vintners Wales have to offer.

I think in lockdown people have probably had lots of time to experiment with different things so now restrictions have been lifted they want to pursue those interests and go out and see how others do it. I often think we probably don’t shout enough about being on TV – perhaps we need to make more of it. Not as sweet as their Traditional Mead, Lyme Bay Winery's West Country Mead has a spicy kick to it alongside the classic honey wine sweetness. Throughout human history bees have been kept to make candles and honey and mead are by-products of that, probably making mead the world’s oldest alcoholic drink. Set in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with the magical Tintern Abbey a short walk away, the Tintern Old Rectory is a perfect place to enjoy the peaceful beauty of the Wye Valley and nearby Forest of Dean.

Colin and Judith Dudley (the present owners) took over the farm and vineyard in 1996 when it had been badly neglected and worked to bring it back to the productive state in which you will find it today.On the plus side we had all this time to do everything ourselves and make sure we’re ready to re-open properly. With far more honey sold in the world than bees produce real and good-quality honey is hard to come by and can be an expensive and lucrative trade. The finished product is a deliciously sweet nectar that can be enjoyed as is, as it has been for centuries!

We were doing it on the side for a bit of fun but then we won the Great Taste Award in 2019 for one of our flavours and we thought we really should give it a go at scaling it up,” Kit said.While the pandemic has been a time of stress for the pair, who moved from their much smaller base in Chepstow and haven’t taken a wage since early 2020, pressure to produce top beer and mead has increased. Splendid in all manner of serves, and we're not just talking about splashing it in your prosecco or lemonade, it's pretty great drizzled over ice cream too!