Virginia Mead & Honey Festival
Program Details & Spotlights
Celebrate the sweetness of fall at the annual Virginia Mead & Honey Festival, brought to you by the Virginia Mead Guild on the scenic grounds of Mountain Run Winery. Visitors can sample exceptionally crafted meads (honey wines) from a dozen of Virginia's finest meaderies and shop a curated marketplace of local craft vendors. Enjoy live music from 90s/00s tribute band Smiling Politely, feast on delicacies from JuJu's Indian Cuisine and BBQLab food trucks, and attend fascinating lectures on honeybees and mead-making.
For Lake Anna locals and fall visitors looking to spice up their autumn weekends, a short, scenic drive northwest to Culpeper is the ultimate seasonal getaway. Nestled on the gorgeous, rolling pastures of Mountain Run Winery, the annual Virginia Mead & Honey Festival offers a warm, buzzing celebration of the region's agricultural heritage. This isn't just your standard beverage festival; it's a sensory dive into the ancient, golden world of mead (honey wine), brought to life by the passionate artisans of the Virginia Mead Guild. The crisp autumn air paired with the sweet aroma of fermented honey creates an absolutely unmatched atmosphere.
Mead is widely recognized as the world's oldest fermented beverage, and Virginia is currently leading a modern renaissance of this historic drink. At the festival, you will have the rare opportunity to sample diverse pours from a dozen of the Commonwealth's finest meaderies. Whether you prefer a bone-dry sparkling mead that mimics a fine champagne, a sweet and rich dessert melomel infused with local autumn berries, or a spiced metheglin perfect for sipping around a campfire, the variety on display will completely redefine your palate. Local beekeepers will also be showcasing their pure, raw honeys, allowing you to taste how different regional wildflowers shape the flavor of the honey from hive to hive.
The festival grounds will be alive with energy all afternoon. To set the perfect autumnal vibe, 90s and 00s tribute band Smiling Politely will be performing live, churning out nostalgic hits that will have you tapping your toes and singing along on the lawn. When hunger strikes, you are in for a culinary treat. The food truck lineup features an incredible, mouth-watering contrast: the rich, aromatic spices of JuJu's Indian Cuisine and the smoky, slow-cooked perfection of BBQLab. Pairing a sweet, crisp honey wine with smoky brisket or spicy curry is a foodie pairing experience you won't soon forget.
Beyond the tasting glass, the festival offers deep educational value for the curious mind. You can step away from the tasting booths to attend fascinating, live-demonstration lectures hosted by master apiculturalists and professional mead-makers. Learn about the complex social structure of the honeybee hive, the vital role pollinators play in our local Lake Anna and Piedmont ecosystems, and even walk away with the foundational knowledge needed to start brewing your very own batch of honey wine at home.
Why You Should Attend
- ✔ Unrivaled Selection: Sample and compare unique, small-batch meads from 12 of Virginia's top meaderies all in one beautiful spot.
- ✔ Meet the Makers: Talk directly with the master mead-makers and local beekeepers who tend the hives and craft the blends.
- ✔ Artisan Marketplace: Shop a curated collection of local craft vendors featuring handmade beeswax candles, honey cosmetics, pottery, and home goods.
- ✔ Live Music & Gourmet Eats: Enjoy nostalgic throwbacks from a live tribute band while pairing craft drinks with incredible Indian street food and craft BBQ.
Insider Tips
- 💡 Take the Scenic Route: If you're driving from the Lake Anna area, take Route 522 North through Orange County. The rolling hills and autumn foliage colors along this route are absolutely breathtaking in the fall.
- 💡 Bring Lawn Chairs or Blankets: While Mountain Run Winery has some patio seating, the best spots to enjoy the live music are on the spacious grassy lawns. Pack your favorite camp chairs and settle in for the day.
- 💡 Stock Up for the Holidays: Craft mead is highly artisanal and often difficult to find in standard grocery stores. Bring a tote bag and purchase bottles directly from the meaderies to stock your Thanksgiving table or to give as unique holiday gifts.
- 💡 Winery Options Available: Traveling with a group? If someone in your party isn't a fan of mead, Mountain Run Winery's excellent estate-grown red and white grape wines will also be available for purchase.
⚓ Local Visitor Navigation Tips & Parking
Tickets are $25 per adult, which includes mead tasting tokens and a souvenir glass. Mountain Run Winery is kid and pet-friendly, featuring a spacious playground and shaded seating. Free on-site parking is available in the grassy pastures.