Fast forward 6 years and I was introduced to mead for the first time.  A friend asked me to pick him up a bottle of mead and I said, “What’s Mead?”  Of course, while grabbing his bottle, I tasted the mead and the mead was good!  The mead had a unique flavor but lacked the complexity of many of the craft stouts I was used to drinking at the time.  

For about a year, I continued to drink mead analyzing the flavors of various products and decided one day, let’s give this a shot.  So, in late 2017 my friend, Matt Grasso, and I embarked on our first mead-making experience.  The result was a palatable mead (Bees on Blueberry Blossoms), which was very dry and also lacked the complexity I was seeking.  We continued to make mead throughout 2018 and I was focused on learning as much as possible about the process.  I began by reading The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm (The Godfather of Mead) of Schramms Mead, picking the brain of Athreya Rajan, formerly of Four Fires Meadery, Bill Cavendar of Black Heath Meadery, An Bui of The Answer Brewpub, and many more all of whom were willing to share insights regarding their craft and experiences within the craft beverage industry. 

Each person I spoke to had a different style, different techniques, and different tips. 

In 2019, I entered the Virginia Dominion Cup brewing competition and placed silver in two mead categories and gold in two mead categories, also taking Best in Show (Caught in the Rain) for the Mead/Cider category!  As I continued to make mead through 2019 and early 2020, I began to realize that this was becoming more than just a hobby, but a daily passion. The thought was, can we make the product commercially if we could find an interested partner? 

So, after a few meetings with Hahn Fitzhugh and Welsey Fitzhugh Holthausen of Lazy Days Winery, we were set to offer Funktastic Meads commercially in collaboration with Lazy Days.  The Fitzhugh’s were great partners and allowed us the opportunity to promote our product in the semi-local market and it was well-received.  

In April 2021, my wife Heather and I made the decision to open our own tasting room and production facility right here in Midlothian, Virginia.  We feel that Midlothian is an exciting suburb of Richmond and truly look forward to being the first winery in Midlothian.  

We welcome everyone to our taproom and hope to continue to meet your expectations of Funktastic Meads.  One of the best parts of the craft industry is pushing boundaries, so we push them!