Pyment

What is Pyment? Pyment is a melomel — a fruit mead — produced by co-fermenting honey with grapes or grape juice. It sits at the crossroads of mead and wine, and the classification rule is simple: if most of the fermentable sugars come from honey, the drink is a pyment; if the grapes contribute the majority, it becomes a honeyed wine. The BJCP catalogues the style as M2B within the broader Melomel category, and pyments can be made in red, white, or blush expressions depending on the grape varieties chosen. A small but important note for shoppers: pyment is not a cider — cider is fermented from apples, while pyment is fermented from honey and grapes.

Origin and Modern Definition

The word has a tangled history. In earlier centuries, piment was often used as a synonym for hippocras — a finished grape wine sweetened with honey and spices after fermentation. Modern pyment is something different: honey and grape sugars ferment together from the start, producing a single integrated drink rather than a blended one.

Because of this co-fermentation, calling pyment simply a mead made with grape must is broadly correct but slightly imprecise. Today the style covers grape juice or must combined with honey before fermentation begins, which gives the producer real control over the balance between the two sugar sources and, ultimately, over whether the result tastes more like a mead or more like a wine.

Production and Sensory Profile

Pyment is made using standard mead fermentation techniques, with yeast selections and fermentation temperatures comparable to wine production — white wines in particular. The choice of honey variety and grape variety both shape the final character, and the BJCP allows entrants to declare either or both if a varietal expression is intended.

On the palate, pyment tends to be wine-like in mouthfeel. The natural acidity of the grapes balances the sweetness and richness of the honey, while grape tannins and skin contact can add body and a touch of astringency. The color spans from pale straw through to deep purple-red depending on the grapes used, paralleling the visual range of conventional wines.

Style, Strength, and How to Approach It

Under BJCP rules, anyone entering a pyment must declare its carbonation level, strength, and sweetness, since these define how the drink is judged. Strength itself follows the wider mead framework — hydromel, standard, or sack — rather than a pyment-specific band, and mead as a whole typically ranges from roughly 3.5 to 20.5 percent ABV.

For drinkers familiar with wine, pyment is an approachable entry point into the world of mead: the grape backbone is recognizable, while the honey adds a layer of aroma and texture that pure wine cannot offer. Treat it much as you would a wine of comparable color and sweetness — served at similar temperatures, paired with similar foods, and appreciated for the way the two ingredients meet in the glass.