Winery Overview
Chaucer's Cellars, part of Bargetto Winery, has been crafting premium, award-winning meads for over 50 years. Our mead-making tradition began in the 1970s in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, when winery president Lawrence Bargetto saw an opportunity to reimagine mead using fresh, local honey sourced from family-owned beekeepers. Inspired by the natural beauty of Soquel Creek, he created a line of premium meads that were both rooted in tradition and elevated by California’s vibrant agricultural landscape.
Today, Chaucer's Cellars remains committed to producing the highest quality meads. We continue to source honey from small-scale beekeepers around the world and maintain a focus on quality, craftsmanship, and innovation. Our meads offer a timeless experience, bridging Old World tradition with a modern palate.
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Vineyard
Our Raspberry Mead is a blend of our Chaucer’s Mead and a small portion of our Raspberry Wine. A blend of fruit such as raspberry is known as Melomel. This blend of fruit and honey has been enjoyed for centuries. Less sweet than our regular mead, this wine finishes with a lingering crisp, refreshing raspberry and honeysuckle impression.
Vinification
Mead is an old English word for honey wine. It dates back 8,000 years. The Chaucer’s Mead story began in 1970 when winery owner, Lawrence Bargetto, produced his first mead. This melomel style raspberry mead is made from co-fermented pure honey and raspberries. Our raspberry mead still reflects the same quality standards as the original batch many decades ago. In the spirit of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, we hope that you will be inspired by this raspberry mead as the pilgrims would have been while passing by a medieval castle on their way to the Canterbury Cathedral.
Tasting Notes
Chaucer’s Raspberry Mead explodes with raspberry and honeysuckle. This wine is a blend of our Mead and a small portion of Raspberry Wine. Less sweet than our regular Mead, this wine finishes with a lingering crisp raspberry and honeysuckle impression. Chaucer’s Raspberry Mead is 100% gluten-free.
