HEXAGON MEAD

Ask any mead-maker and they'll agree: great mead starts with quality honey. The process of making Hexagon Mead begins deep in the Kaikōura Ranges, where blue borage flourishes.

The Hislop clan (see the entry on the honey shop, BeeBox, page 125) have been working in the region for more than 50 years, and are pioneers in organic beekeeping. Nick Parkinson, who carried on the beekeeping tradition from his father-in-law Ivan Hislop, suggested he and son Jesse try their hand at a certified organic mead. The family's single-origin honey is fermented with water and yeast and aged in French casks. The result is a mildly sweet liquid, of which even royalty has taken note. In 2019, the Prince of Wales bought two bottles on his six-day tour of

New Zealand with the Duchess of Cornwall.

Jesse took over mead production after Nick passed away in 2020.

Hexagon Mead is available on wine lists in Kaikōura and for purchase at BeeBox.

28 West End, Kaikōura.

027 207 0041, hexagonmead.com