Starrlight Mead & Cider is a woman and family-owned artisan honey winery at The Plant in Pittsboro. Owners Becky Starr (Sales and Tasting Room Manager) and Ben Starr (Meadmaker) began the operation as a passion project, and 13 years later, it has blossomed into an award-winning meadery. Their meads are crafted with honey from North Carolina beekeepers and range in sweetness from off-dry (lightly sweet) to sweet, incorporating unique ingredients such as fruits, spices, peppers, tea, and herbs. As home mead makers, they won Best in Show and commercial medals in mead competitions, including the prestigious Finger Lakes Wine Competition.
In early 2023, Starrlight Mead purchased Chatham Cider Works, and by May of that year, they were selling cider made in-house, on tap and on shelves at Starrlight and craft beverage sites throughout Chatham County. They’ve rebranded now as Starrlight Mead and Cider, fully bringing their cider operations under the Starrlight umbrella.
Stop by for a glass or bottle of cider or mead (honey wine), as well as workshops and classes, events, tastings, and behind-the-scenes tours of their production facility.
TASTINGS & TOURS
They offer guided mead tastings anytime they are open. A tasting is your choice of 8 available meads (not including Reserve meads), and you get to keep your wine glass for $12 per person. They also have a pre-selected flight of 6 ciders and meads to sample at a table or on the porch for $8 per person. Tours of the production facility are available on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and 4pm.
EVENTS
Starrlight Mead offers three event spaces for your next wedding, meeting, corporate or holiday party, rehearsal dinner, or any other intimate gathering. Click here to learn more about The Great Hall (featuring a gorgeous stone fireplace and custom wood bar), The Blue Room, and their outdoor spaces. They host events throughout the year, including their annual Mead Fest, which features home mead-making demonstrations, tastings, Renaissance music, arts and crafts, sword-fighting knights, and much more.