Pyment is mead made with honey and grapes. It sits between mead and wine: honey brings floral depth and roundness, while grapes add acidity, tannin, color, and a more wine-like structure.
You can make pyment with grape juice, wine grape concentrate, crushed grapes, or a blend of honey and finished grape must. The best choice depends on whether you want a bright white pyment, a deeper red pyment, a dry wine-like finish, or a sweeter dessert-style mead.
Pyment mead recipe for a 1 gallon batch
- Batch size: 1 gallon
- Main fermentables: honey and grape juice, grape concentrate, or grape must
- Yeast fit: wine or mead yeast chosen around grape style, alcohol target, and sweetness plan
- Style direction: white, red, rose-style, dry, semi-sweet, still, sparkling, young, or age-worthy
- Key decision: balance honey sweetness against grape acidity and tannin
Ingredients
- Honey, adjusted to target gravity and sweetness
- Grape juice, grape concentrate, or grape must for the grape portion
- Water as needed to reach final volume and gravity
- 1 packet wine or mead-friendly yeast
- Yeast nutrient, used according to the product label
- Optional: oak, tannin, acid adjustment, pectic enzyme, or backsweetening when your process supports it
How to make pyment
- Choose the grape base: White grape juice keeps the pyment lighter. Red grape sources add more color, tannin, and wine-like structure.
- Sanitize equipment: Clean and sanitize the fermenter, airlock, spoon, siphon, and all transfer equipment.
- Mix honey and grapes: Dissolve honey into the grape base, then adjust volume and gravity.
- Record gravity: Take an original gravity reading before pitching yeast.
- Add nutrient and yeast: Use nutrient according to the label, then pitch yeast according to the yeast instructions.
- Ferment steadily: Keep the batch in the yeast's recommended range and limit oxygen exposure after vigorous fermentation slows.
- Rack and age: Transfer off heavy sediment. Give pyment time for grape acidity, tannin, alcohol, and honey character to integrate.
- Package when stable: Bottle or keg after gravity is stable and the flavor is balanced.
How is pyment different from melomel?
Pyment is a specific grape-based mead, while melomel is the broader category for fruit mead. Grapes bring more wine-like acidity and tannin than many fruits, so pyment often benefits from aging and careful balance. If the batch tastes sharp when young, time and measured backsweetening can help bring honey and grape character together.
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