Heidrun Meadery

My fiancé and I discovered Heidrun Meadery about three years ago after relocating to the Bay Area. We immediately fell in love with the location of the Meadery, as we have gone on several backpacking trips in Point Reyes and this is our favorite area of California. I’ve visited Heidrun several times now and it has always been a wonderful experience! We’ve taken family there to do tastings when they’ve come to visit, sent mead to family and friends as gifts for special occasions, and we are even having Heidrun’s sparkling mead at our wedding this June for our toast! Carley, who usually does tastings for visitors, is very pleasant and professional, and always shares her knowledge of the Méthode Champenoise and the whole process of making the sparkling mead. Every variety of sparkling mead from Heidrun is unique and has a distinct taste: my fiancé and I both love the Alfalfa & Clover variety, which is sweet and has a lovely floral taste. We also really enjoy the crisp and fruity flavor of the California Orange Blossom. The whole atmosphere there is very relaxing, and the views of the hills are beautiful from the greenhouse, where they pour the mead for tastings. We have purchased mead each time we have visited and always feel that we are supporting a very worthwhile local business. I would highly recommend making time to visit Heidrun if you are anywhere near the Bay Area, as they are the only people making such a unique and delicious product! We can’t wait to share our love of Heidrun’s sparkling mead with our family and friends on our wedding day!

Great place to taste flavors of sparkling «champagne» style Mead and tasty honey.
Enjoyed the beautiful setting with all of the trees, flowers and bee boxes. The drive to get there was also stunning with all the old growth trees and countryside of Marin county.
We were hoping to learn a little about the process by seeing how it was made but there were no tours when we were there Wednesday afternoon.
After leaving the facility we found out, online, that tours are 11:30am and 3pm on M, W, Th, F, Sat and Sunday at 11 am. CLOSED on Tuesdays.
Loved all the Mead we tried, especially their Point Reyes Wildflower mead. Yum!
Wished we would’ve researched this better than just Unilocaling it, but we certainly enjoyed the mead and the grounds.

If you find yourself in Marin County or plan a visit within an hour of this location, I highly recommend you make time for a stop by Heid Run Meadery.
Coming across this quaint meadery and bee farm on a trip along the California coast was a stroke of luck. My bf’s dad is a bee biologist so we were able to nerd out and get a little buzz (no pun intended) dueing our visit. As lovers of honey and eating locally/​naturally, Heidi Run was the perfect unplanned stop that couldn’t have fit better on our venture to the ocean.
Stepping up to the greenhouse where tastings are offered, we were warmly greeted and immediately asked if we’d like to taste and tour the meadery. (Btw mead is honey that has been turned into alcohol) Each of the different drink were unique to the typical mead because of their light, airy composition and niche flavors, a result of the variety of flower blossoms that the bees had been pollenating. We tried five different flavors for a very reasonable price (tastings can be very expensive) and enjoyed free samples of honey as well. What’s unique about the mead is their fermentation process, but I will let you go and learn about it yourself.
We ended up buying 3 bottles of mead and 3 jars of honey without hesitation.

I don’t know a lot about mead, but I do know that Heidrun is awesome! I came here with a group of ~20 people on a rainy Saturday afternoon. A tasting is $ 15, and a tasting + tour is $ 25, but both are waived with a purchase of 3+ bottles. We were first given some mead to try, and then we got a tour of the actual meadery. We learned how to make it and were shown the equipment for the different steps. Then the tour guide led us outside where Heidrun’s hives are, and she told us a lot of information about bees. I think we got to try five meads, which all tasted really different. Heidrun makes theirs with champagne yeast so that it’s bubbly and unique. Overall, it was an informative and fun trip!
Another bonus: I’ve been to wineries where I’ve liked something, bought a bottle, and discovered that it’s way cheaper at the grocery store down the street. I wandered around a couple of stores in Point Reyes Station after Heidrun, and didn’t find any of their meads on sale for cheaper than at the meadery itself.

Small, off the road meadery north of SF. They do sparking meads, only of their kind and they are tasting. The tasting room staff makes you feel welcome and will give you a tour if the time is right, explaining every last detail of the passion that goes into their mead. Very cute, quick meadery to visit if you’ve got an hour to spare. Not vast and elaborate like most wineries or even basic wineries, but the earthy and natural feel makes you want to stay.

Tour and tasting is well worth the fee. Especially when you can try the flight alongside the source honey.
We brought a picnic and made an afternoon of it.

This place is great! We stumbled upon on while exploring Hwy 1 on our way back to SF. The grounds are gorgeous and the wine is delicious! They even had a pop up Oyster BBQ.
Carly is so sweet and helpful :-) definitely bring a picnic, buy a bottle of mead (or 2) and chill out for the afternoon with the gorgeous scenery.

Very cute place. They offer tastings and tours (but call ahead and make ressies for tours as hours can vary).
These meads are different and made in the traditional champagne style (Méthode Champenoise), which means they’re much less sweeter, more bubbly, and overall better and more palatable than the sugary meads I’ve tasted before.
Tasting room is very adorable. They sell succulents and local honey (the same honey used in their meads!). You can also walk around their property during your tasting. They were very flexible and knowledgeable about the meads. Ended up buying a few bottles + few bottles of honey.
Though I’m a biologist, I was shocked that the different tastes were solely due to bees feeding on different food sources!!! Pretty amazing fun fact.

The first time I had mead was at a renaissance festival a decade ago. The first sips were cloyingly sweet and pretty gross then the buzz kicked in fairly quickly and at that point the taste subsided. I ended up drinking three red plastic silo cups full of the vile stuff cause let’s face it, you have to be drunk to tolerate a renaissance festival.
Everything I just described is nothing at all like the mead we had at Heidrun Meadery. The meads were well balanced and made using a similar process as champagne. Each was made using honeys from different regions and flowers which added up to many different varieties of mead.
I’d recommend making an appointment though we just showed up and they were able to serve us. After our tasting we walked around the grounds and were delighted by the lush romantic landscapes. Next time I’d consider bringing a picnic and buying a few chilled bottles of mead for a buzzy good time.
*Tip*: If you’re taking Point Reyes Petaluma Road to get to Heidrum, and you easily get car sick, take a Dramamine! Otherwise the mead will settle you once you start your tasting!

Love coming here to taste the sparkling mead and chillax with the amazing hard working bees.
More interesting than any tasting I’ve ever done because it’s just so unique to taste how different honey from different plants in different regions affect the product.
Highly recommend!
PS — they have a selection of plants that attract for your garden and succulents too!

Very special one hour tour and tasting of 5 meads today with Carly who was very informative about the process of making mead, the care of the bees and the tending of the property where they were planting more flowers to attract the bees until frost. Definitely worth the trip as all the meads were completely different based on the honey that was harvested from different sources. The $ 15 charge is waived with the purchase of 3 bottles. The only hard part is deciding which ones to get as they were all yummy!

My tour here was a solid 5 stars. It only costs $ 15 per person and that is waived with a 3 bottle purchase. You get a full 1 hour tour plus you van taste 5 Meads! The best part :)
I will be back… and my family and I wish the folks of Heidrun exponential growth.

The surprising highlight of our laidback relaxation week in Point Reyes! Stopped in on a whim based on all the five star reviews, and confirmed that the high marks are absolutely right. We were too early for the 3pm tour but had a great time with the $ 10 five mead tasting, hosted inside a beautiful garden shed/​tasting room. Our guide was fun, friendly, and taught us quite a bit about the process and production of the meads.
The meads themselves were fantastic, with diverse flavor profiles across the five kinds of honey they had that day. None of my group are fans of particularly sweet drinks and so we all loved the zingy dryness and fizz of these champagne meads. We bought the almost baking-​spice-​flavored meadowfoam mead and wandered around the working bee gardens and olive groves.
Great people, high quality drinks, and idyllic atmosphere make this spot worth the trip.

This is mead as it should be — brut and sparkling, with no added flavor.
A beautiful venue for a truly singular product. Heidrun is the only meadery in the world to use the Méthode Champenoise, and one of the few to focus on the nuanced flavor of the varietal honey itself, rather than adding flavor and sweetness (the only ingredients in all their meads are water, honey, and champagne yeast). The incredible differences in flavor between each mead produced at Heidrun are purely a result of the different honeys used.
I have visited Heidrun a few times in the past, but recently had the pleasure of attending a tour and tasting. The tour was comprehensive and unpretentious, and a great way to experience the process of mead-​making from beginning to end, or as they say at Heidrun, «from flower to flute». I was able to taste five different meads in stock that day as part of the tour (the selection changes with the seasons), and also ordered a glass of the Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Blossom to try.
HAWAIIAN LEHUA BLOSSOM:
Very dry and slightly tannic, with crisp fruit notes reminiscent of champagne.
OREGON MEADOWFOAM BLOSSOM:
My personal favorite (and, I thought, the most complex and exotic), slightly sweeter than the Lehua with a really interesting herbaceous tone.
MADRAS CARROT BLOSSOM:
The deepest of the meads I tried, with a very complex aroma like incense. The flavor was slightly peppery and smoky as well.
CALIFORNIA ORANGE BLOSSOM:
The most floral of the meads, just the right sweetness and very refreshing.
ALFALFA & CLOVER BLOSSOM:
The lightest and sweetest of the meads, with honey from the borders of Glacier National Park in Montana. Very smooth and refreshing, slightly fruity, and almost clear in the flute.
HAWAIIAN MACADAMIA NUT BLOSSOM:
Similar to the Lehua, very slightly sweeter but not fruity. To me, this was the least interesting of the six I tried, but still enjoyable.
Heidrun also produces a few other varieties of mead, such as Radish Blossom and their very special Point Reyes Wildflower, which uses an estate honey gathered from hives kept at the meadery. Still haven’t tried either of these, but apparently Radish Blossom is their most popular mead.
In summary, a great place to visit, relax, and learn something new, all while enjoying a remarkable beverage.

Great tasting experience and beautiful grounds! Thanks for hosting our group and showing us around!

Never had mead before, dropped in on a whim while biking past it. Did the tasting flight and it was a fantastic idea. The bartender (?) took her time explaining each one and I didn’t feel rushed or as if I was a burden despite being the only one there. Super cute tasting room too. I always imagined mead to be sweeter but here they make it a bit more dry, and with bubbles! It was super tasty. I really enjoyed the Meadowfoam as it had a hard to place flavor that I have never encountered in an alcohol. I left with a bottle of the Meadowfoam, a better understanding of mead, and a nice buzz.

I made a reservation for the tour and tasting, and I enjoyed it. My tour guide was super friendly and answered all of our questions. We got to see how the champagne style mead was made from start to finish.
We were able to try 5 different meads, and you could definitely tell that each mead was made from a different honey. I really enjoyed the meadowfoam and Hawaiian lehua meads. I wished we could have sampled the wildflower mead that is native to this property.
You can also buy honey here. I purchased a couple of jars, and the one that I have open (macadamia nut) is delicious.

The location: an amazing, fragrant and unpretentious shangri la. I would’ve just gone there for the flowers and combs of honey bees.
The people: friendly, smart and knowledgeable. Again, an absence of pretension and an abundance of gregariousness.
The mead: unexpectedly amazing. All dry and nicely effervescent. Some were comes and others dangerously quaffable. Every bottle carried a variety of flavors and packed a 13% punch. The tasting fee is waived with the purchase of 3 bottles, which is easy to do.
*reservations are NOT necessary for tastings. They do offer a tour, though, which does require a rezzo.

Lovely afternoon at the Meadery!
We’ve lived in the area for several years but only just discovered this gem today. Their mead is not the super-​sweet, almost syrupy confection you may remember from meads past… they create sparkling bubblies, from dry to earthy to bright and citrusy to sweet. the «tasting flight» was a fantastic experience, including lots of education and back-​story on the creator, the property, and the technique. friendly staff, lovely property, and delicious mead.
Go for it. Make a reservation. Well worth it.

BEST COMMERCIAL MEAD I’VE TASTED! Definitely 5 stars.
I’m really into mead. I make it at home, and I am always up for sampling when I run across it. To give you a clear picture, I currently have 2 meads in primary and a bunch of meads and cysers already bottled.
That being said, I’ve really not run across much commercial mead that I actually like. Sure, Chaucer’s is tasty, but sadly it is just too sweet for me these days. And I really can’t get behind the stuff at Rabbit’s Foot Meadery.
So I was THRILLED to discover a commercial meadery close by (well…2 hours away). My husband and I decided to visit for a day trip. Note: they do ask that you call to make a reservation to taste /​tour at the meadery. We called and were able to get in same-​day.
The tour and tasting were a blast! Our tour guide, Carly, was very friendly and brimming with interesting details about Heidrun. Their facility is just gorgeous. We had a small tour (3 guests) so got a lot of opportunity to ask questions about the process, view the equipment and taste awesome wine. Gordon (the owner) also stopped by to give us a sample of meadowfoam honey, too.
I loved all of the meads we tasted, too. So much so, that I joined their wine club! My favorites were probably the radish blossom and the lightly sweet clover /​alfalfa. But seriously, all of them were excellent.
For those who love either mead or champagne, definitely look these guys up as you won’t be disappointed! Heidrun is worth a visit.