Question About Mead

The key likely is the alcohol content. If it is under about 16%(by volume), I would treat it the same as an ordinary table wine. However, you should be able to keep it at least a few days with proper storage. See

. Fortified wines often have an alcohol content around 18% or a bit more, which will keep the wine quite a while after it is opened. Sometimes alcohol is given as proof. This is about two times the percentage in the US, but I believe proof is quite different in the UK. However the taste of some fortified wines will slowly change if they are stored a long time once opened, especially if you open the bottle often so that the wine is exposed to more oxygen in the air. If you buy the mead, the alcohol content should be listed on the bottle or available from the maker. If you make you own, it will likely be well under 16% alcohol, unless you fortify it with brandy or some other spirit after it finishes fermenting. The same considerations likely apply fairly well to other drinks such as various hard ciders, fruit wines, etc.

As far as I know, all commercial meads fall in the same general ABV as wine, and will be affected in the same way as a wine. It is also possible to make a fortified mead, but I am not aware of any commercial meadery that does so.

However, I should note that it is not necessary to consume an opened bottle of most wines by the next day; whites can (depending on the wine) last up to three days, and some reds up to a week.

I believe it depends on the following:

Alcohol content

pH

Acidity

Made entirely from honey or was fermented with fruit

Honey is a very interesting substance. One would never believe that it has a relatively low pH. Normally one would think that because honey is sweet, it has a high pH - wrong.

Beverages with a relatively low pH will keep longer. It is not uncommon for meads to have a very long shelf life and to not suffer the degree of oxidation that normally would occur in a wine.

The Acidity of mead is very difficult to determine because honey is highly buffered and the end point in a titration is easily missed because the color change often is not permanent resulting in overshooting the end point.

Meads made with fruit will usually have a higher acidity and hence longer shelf life and slower oxidation. If fruit is used in addition to the honey, the tannin content of the fruit will enter into the variables.

I have been making wine for years and have just recently started to make meads and melomels (mead with fruit). It is a whole new learning experience.