SKYRIM & 810 MEADWORKS JEWEL OF THE NEWELL

Is there any greater game than Skyrim? This game has been released on practically every platform by this point...PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and now Switch. I played Skyrim when it first launched, back in the winter of 2011. I have to admit that it was my very first game EVER from the first person point of view...and the initial steps of getting my feet wet were quite frustrating. I immediately encountered a troll in a garden and swung around wildly while also making enemies by hitting innocent bystanders instead. Eventually, I got the hang of things, and I sunk hours into adventuring as the Dragonborn. This was the first time I had the freedom to make choices in a game as to who my character would be, where I could go, what quests I could pursue. I've said it many times, but if I could forget everything about the game so that I could play it anew, I would.

Now, remember Honningbrew and Black-Briar? Those were the two mead makers in game. Not to mention that the Nords of Skyrim are akin to our Norway's vikings, who also drank mead. So how could I not pair a mead with this game? It is quite literally the drink of the Nords! For my 30th birthday, I visited 810 Meadworks in Medina, NY. This was something I had been looking forward to since I first started researching wine for the blog. There aren't a ton of varieties of mead out there, but 810 Meadworks makes up for that in almost every way possible. Coffee mead? They've got it. Ginger mead? They've got it. Mead brewed with hot peppers? Yup they've got that too. So I basically went there in search of a mead to pair with Skyrim, and I found that pairing in Jewel of the Newell. Earthy and slightly dry, with lovely notes of wildflower honey, oak, and a subtle amount of pomegranate. I love this pairing because while its still a honey wine, the earthiness evokes the wilderness of Skyrim. While its not Honningbrew or Black-Briar, I'd be willing to bet this mead is better and even more suitable for exploring the robust world of the Dragonborn. And if you want to see the mead in action, check out my previous post where I shared this pairing with my friend Kurt Indovina on his YouTube channel!