Festina Lente Estate Winery & Meadery

Festina Lente is BC's largest meadery, and a delightful change of pace from the usual wine-country circuit. The name means "make haste slowly," and that unhurried philosophy runs through everything here on this five-acre Langley farm. Rather than grapes, the star is honey, much of it from the meadery's own bees, transformed into a modern, surprisingly dry and very food-friendly take on mead, or honey wine. This is not the cloying stuff of medieval feasts; it's handcrafted in small batches and built to pair with a meal. The range is impressively deep, with a rotating roster of many mead styles that changes with the seasons to reflect what's being grown and sold at nearby farmers' markets. Additions, when used, come from the farm itself or from growers within a few kilometres, giving each bottle a true taste of the place. The tasting room welcomes visitors daily, and it's the ideal spot to work through a flight and discover just how varied and refined mead can be, from bone-dry sippers to fruit-kissed seasonal pours. Set among the farms and back roads of Langley in the Fraser Valley, Festina Lente makes an easy and memorable addition to a day of touring the area's wineries, cideries and craft producers. The relaxed, farm-fresh atmosphere and knowledgeable pours make it welcoming whether you're a mead devotee or trying honey wine for the very first time. If you think you know what mead tastes like, a visit here will happily upend that. Come sample a style of drink that's both ancient and refreshingly current, then take home a bottle or two to surprise friends at your next dinner.