Hi All out there who want to start a meadery! We applaud and support you.
For any type of Meadery no matter the budget it is agreeably a large task to figure out how to start. I know meaderies who are commercial and operating out of their homes with a pretty small production capacity to meaderies operating with the goal of over 20,000 liters a year and more.
First I would define the type of Meadery one wants to operate
-There are basically three ways to go: 1) Set up a meadery and produce your own product. 2) Start a grape winery and also produce mead, maybe 25% of the mead on the market is made by a winery also producing grape wine 3) Contract out the production of your mead (much lower start up costs).
-Determine the name of the Meadery, logo design, etc.
-Decide will you have a tasting room or not?
-Beginning staff (a mead maker is a wise first employee)
-What state will the Meadery in? Figure out the laws of that state to determine what you are allowed to do as a winery, when you are allowed to be open, what licenses you need, what will your state taxes be, etc.
-Type of equipment (wise to have the mead maker help in these decisions). More of a winery or more of a brewery?
-What market will you go after (wine drinkers, beer drinkers, both?)
-Apply for your Federal and state paperwork as soon as you can because it sometimes takes a VERY long time. Again, apply early. So figure out some of your key recipes first because you will then have to submit the formula of each brand to the BATF for approval and once approved then submit your label for approval. Wine America's
http://www.wineamerica.org/ label submission service to submit labels to the ATF is a very helpful service.
-Signage for your store front, promotional materials, etc. should all be designed right in the beginning.
-Design a plan (based on estimated production time) of when you think your first product will be ready for market. (Remember to apply for those labels from the BATF asap because this can hold you up).
-Plan a PR push for when that first product will be available for the market. The day you release the first product is when you can consider you are really open for business.
-Plan to attend and or enter if you have commercial product the International Mead Festival - Honeywines of the World November 5 and 6. You can taste the largest collection of commercial meads and talk shop with others in the industry. Go to
www.meadfest.com for dates and information.
If you need more specifics feel free to contact us directly as we are available for consulting.
Julia Herz-Honeywine.com and Redstone Meadery
David Myers-Redstone Meadery
&
For information on the International Mead Festival visit:
www.meadfest.com