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Our take
Bee d'Vine is honey wine for people who like wine. It is made from raw honey and spring water and nothing else, it comes in properly dry as well as semi-sweet styles, and it is aged for years before release. At $49 to $67 a bottle it is priced like good Sonoma wine, not like festival mead, and the scores (90 to 92 points in published Tastings.com reviews, and up to 93 on the producer's own awards list) suggest the price is earned.
See the full range at Bee d'Vine or compare every bottle here →
Who makes Bee d'Vine
The winemaker and founder is Ayele Solomon. His family was in commercial farming in Ethiopia for two generations, he spent childhood holidays on safari in Kenya, and he now works in Sonoma Valley, where he also looks after a small organic vineyard his father planted in 2005.
The winery's origin story starts in a forest rather than a cellar. On a 2009 trip to the Kafa rainforest in southwest Ethiopia, Solomon was thinking about how to give local people a reason to keep the trees standing. Honey was the answer he landed on: bees need flowering forest, and beekeepers who can sell honey have a stake in protecting it. Making wine from honey followed naturally, because Ethiopia already had a national drink made from honey, t'ej.
His stated aim is to refine t'ej into a natural wine that keeps honey's floral character but has the balance and complexity people expect from grape wine, and through it to support rural beekeepers and the habitats bees depend on.
How it is made
- Two ingredients. Raw honey and spring water. There is no fruit, spice, added sugar or flavoring in any bottle, and no gesho, the bittering herb used in traditional tej.
- Dry or semi-sweet, never cloying. The Brut family is fermented dry. The Demi Sec family keeps a moderate amount of the honey's natural sugar.
- Long aging. The winery states a minimum of six months in barrel and three years in bottle for its still wines. The Fresca sparkler is the exception: it is made entirely in stainless steel.
- Natural bubbles. The three sparkling wines get their carbonation from a second fermentation under pressure.
- No tannin, little sulfite. Honey has no skins or seeds, and the winery describes its wines as tannin-free. It says free sulfur is kept under 15 ppm.
Nutrition, per the winery: about 125 calories and 5.3 g of carbohydrate per 5 oz glass for the Brut style, and about 140 calories and 9.4 g for Demi Sec. More context in our guide to alcohol, calories and carbs.
The lineup and prices
Prices below were checked in September 2026. Tap any price to see the current one.
| Bottle | Style | Bubbles | ABV | Honey | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demi Sec | Semi-sweet | Still | 12.5% | Clover | Overall | $49 |
| Demi Sec Sparkling | Semi-sweet | Sparkling | 11.5% | Orange blossom + clover | Celebrations | $59 |
| Brut | Dry | Still | 12.5% | Clover | Dry honey wine | $49 |
| Brut Sparkling | Dry | Sparkling | 11.5% | Orange blossom | Sparkling | $59 |
| Brut Fresca Sparkling | Dry | Sparkling | 11.5% | Clover | Prosecco alternative | $56 |
| Demi Sec Geteme | Semi-sweet | Still | 12.5% | Ethiopian Geteme + clover | Closest to the Ethiopian roots | $52 |
| Demi Sec Miombo | Semi-sweet | Still | 12.5% | Tanzanian Miombo + clover | Whiskey and amaro drinkers | $52 |
| Brut Barrel Fermented | Dry | Still | 12.5% | Clover | Chardonnay drinkers | $52 |
| Brut X Reserve | Dry | Still | 12.5% | Orange blossom | Splurge | $67 |
| 3L Double Magnum | Semi-sweet | Still | 12.5% | Clover | Weddings and big gifts | $349 |
If you are choosing a first bottle, the decision is simply sweet or dry:
The winery also sells a berele, the traditional round tej flask, for $10, and a Chardonnay under the Wancha label, which is grape wine and outside the scope of this site.
Awards and scores
Three of the wines have reviews you can read on a third-party site. Tastings.com, run by the Beverage Testing Institute, rated the Brut Sparkling 90 points and the Demi Sec Sparkling 91 points (gold medals, 2019), and the Brut X Reserve 92 points (gold medal, 2020), all in its "Exceptional" band.
The winery's own awards page lists more, all from 2014 to 2016: for the Demi Sec, gold medals at the World Wine Championships Mead Challenge (91 and 92 points), the Eco Friendly Wine Challenge (93 points) and the International Women's Wine Competition (with Best in Class); for the Brut, golds at the Mead Challenge and the Eco Friendly Wine Challenge (91 points each), plus silvers at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition for both.
Club d'Vine
The wine club is unusually flexible. There is no fee to join, you choose the bottles, and you set the interval anywhere from monthly to every six months. The commitment is a minimum of four bottles per shipment and two shipments, after which you can change or cancel. In return shipping is free, including ice packs and air shipping in summer, and members receive two berele flasks, a copy of the winery's book The Celebrated Story of Honey Wine and a bottle of its barrel-aged red wine vinegar.
Ordering and shipping
- Orders placed by 2 pm Pacific usually ship the same day, otherwise the next day.
- Delivery is by FedEx and an adult (21+) must show ID and sign. After three failed attempts the box goes back and re-delivery is charged to you, so ship to an address where someone is home, such as an office.
- No PO boxes.
- In hot months the winery adds ice packs at no charge and may hold shipments during extreme heat.
- Orders are packed as soon as they arrive, so they cannot be changed afterwards, and all sales are final.
- Alcohol shipping rules differ by state. If you are unsure about yours, check at checkout or ask the winery before you order.
Pros and cons
What we like
- Honey and water only, with every honey source named
- Real dry options, which are rare in mead
- Years of aging before release
- Published 90 to 92-point reviews for three of the wines
- Naturally sparkling wines, not force-carbonated
- A stated conservation aim behind the African honey sourcing
What to know
- $49 to $67 is well above typical mead prices
- We could not confirm store availability, so plan on ordering online
- No fruit or spiced meads, if that is what you are after
- All sales final, and someone 21+ has to sign for the box
- The medals on the producer's list date from 2014 to 2016
Frequently asked questions
Is Bee d'Vine a mead?
Yes. Mead and honey wine are the same thing. Bee d'Vine labels its bottles honey wine, and they are made, aged and meant to be drunk like table wine rather than like the sweet, spiced meads many people picture.
Where is Bee d'Vine made?
In Sonoma Valley, California. Most of the honey is American clover and orange blossom; the Geteme and Miombo bottlings add forest honey from Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Is Bee d'Vine sweet?
It comes in two families. Brut is dry, at about 5.3 g of carbohydrate per 5 oz glass. Demi Sec is semi-sweet, at about 9.4 g. Neither is a dessert wine.
How much alcohol is in Bee d'Vine?
The still wines are 12.5% ABV and the sparkling wines 11.5% ABV, in line with most white wines.
Is Bee d'Vine gluten-free? Does it contain sulfites?
The producer states it is gluten-free and that the only ingredients are raw honey and spring water. Small amounts of sulfite are added during aging and at bottling, under 15 ppm free sulfur according to the winery, which is low compared with typical grape wine.
How long does an open bottle last?
About a week in the refrigerator, according to the winery. Sparkling bottles lose their fizz sooner, so use a sparkling stopper and finish them within a day or two.
Where can I buy Bee d'Vine honey wine?
The full range is sold on the winery's website, which ships from California. We have not verified which US stores carry it, so ordering direct is the route we can vouch for.
Was Bee d'Vine on Shark Tank?
Yes, in season 12, episode 5 (November 13, 2020). Four sharks made a joint offer on air, but according to later reporting the deal did not close.