A melomel (fruit mead) made by fermenting honey with grapes or grape juice — a honey-and-grape hybrid that can range from mead-like to nearly wine-like. A red-grape pyment is sometimes called a ‘hippocras’ when spiced. Sweetness ranges from dry to sweet.
In the glass
Origin
Pyment is among the oldest fruit meads, joining two of antiquity’s foundational ferments — honey and grape. A spiced pyment is, by modern convention, called a hippocras, borrowing the name of the spiced, honey-sweetened wine prized as a medieval cordial. It carries on today in the craft-mead revival.
Notes
The grape melomel: closest of the meads to wine. A spiced pyment is, by convention, called hippocras (historically a spiced, honey-sweetened wine). Other single fruits get their own names (cyser for apple) or fall under fruit melomel.
Defining examples
Schramm’s Heart of Darkness (varies)·Redstone Pinot Noir Nectar