CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago’s food and beverage scene is huge, to say the least. Sometimes so many choices feels so overwhelming, but don’t worry, we’ve got you. Each week, we’re going to spotlight a unique business in the Chicago area.
Today we’re going to the city’s Wild Blossom Meadery and Winery, a hidden gem at 91st and Hermitage, between the Metra Rock Island train tracks and the Dan Ryan Woods trail, and right by the moneymakers – the bees.
“A good hive like this is about 60,000 to 80,000 bees in it,” said owner Greg Fischer.
Fischer, a wine enthusiast and former beekeeper, turned from wine to mostly mead.
“Gobs of honey right here on property. It’s like hive to hand. I mean, it goes right from the hive right to our fermenter,” he said. “You combine honey and water and yeast, and then you ferment it with different fruits – with anything from a pomegranate to mulberries that we get right on property.”
The mead is made, produced, and packaged onsite at Wild Blossom. You can come here to make your own, or come for a group tasting.
CBS 2’s Audrina Bigos got to taste with an expert, sampling some sweet meads, from red honey sangria to a wildberry and PB&J, and then a surprise – a mead made with chili peppers.
“Smoky. It has all these different flavors in it,” Fischer said.
In all, there are about 50 mead flavors made at Wild Blossom, ranging from your dries, to sweets, to ciders, and everything in between.
“Everybody asks me what’s my favorite mead, and I’m like the one in my glass, because it’s like I like the one I’m drinking now,” Fischer said.
When Wild Blossom first opened, it was the first meadery in Illinois.
Now there are five in the state, and enthusiasts think mead is the next craft revolution.
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