Thistlerock Mead Company

06/01/2026

What's buzzing?! 🐝 We're a finalist for Best Small Winery in the 2026 Best of C-VILLE awards — and final voting is officially open!

This one means a lot to us. Thistlerock isn't just a meadery; we're a net-zero, regenerative flower farm in the heart of the Monticello AVA, where every bottle starts with our bees and the land they help us tend. A vote for us is a vote for the bees, for nature, and for keeping craft mead alive and thriving right here in Charlottesville.

It takes less than a minute, and you can vote once a day through the end of the month. Show us some love? 🌸🍯
👉 Vote here:

Categories, nominees, and results for Best of C-VILLE 2026. Once again, we’re putting Charlottesville’s favorites head-to-head. Got a go-to burger joint or a yoga studio that keeps you sane? Nominate,

05/17/2026

Today from 3-5pm beat the heat and enjoy Scottish fiddler Colin MacLeod’s beautiful tunes with a cold glass of mead!

05/16/2026

Our food and farming systems, pollinators, and energy are all interconnected. We can do good things for all three with a little ingenuity and intention!

Pairing solar energy with beekeeping helps address the need for clean energy and the rapid loss of pollinator habitat, while boosting economic opportunities for local beekeepers and landowners.

05/13/2026

We have some exciting news — Thistlerock Mead Company has been nominated for Best Small Winery in C-VILLE Weekly’s Best of Charlottesville 2026! 🌿🍯

This is a community vote, and nominations close this Friday, May 15. The top nominees advance to the final ballot — so every vote truly counts.

If you love what we’re building out here in Albemarle County — the mead, the farm, the bees, the festivals, the whole mad experiment — we’d be so grateful for your vote.

Takes 30 seconds 👇

🔗 https://bestof.c-ville.com/2026/winery-small
Share this with a friend who knows good mead when they taste it. 🐝✨

Crown your favorites in Best of C-VILLE!

05/05/2026

🌿 We're Growing the Hive 🐝

Something special is happening at Thistlerock — and we're looking for the right people to grow with us.

We're hiring for roles in:

🍯 Tasting Room — hourly, part time | $16–20/hr
Pour, educate, and delight guests at our farm tasting room. We're looking for someone friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about craft beverages. Weekend availability a must.

🎪 Events & Farm Tours — hourly, part time | $16–20/hr
Help bring Thistlerock's festivals, private events, and farm experiences to life. If you love setup, hospitality, and the satisfaction of a well-run event, this one's for you.

🌾 Management — up to 30 hrs/week initially | $24–30/hr (with FTE opportunities coming later this summer)
Lead day-to-day tasting room and event operations. Prior hospitality management experience required. We need an organized self-starter who thrives in a farm-based, mission-driven hospitality environment.

For all roles: a can-do, entrepreneurial mindset is a must. We're a startup — scrappy, passionate, and building something we're genuinely proud of. If you're the kind of person who sees a problem and finds a solution, you'll fit right in here.

We're a small, hardworking team on a working flower farm in the heart of Albemarle County. If that sounds like your kind of place, we'd love to meet you.

📩 Send a brief note about yourself and the role you're interested in to [email protected]

05/01/2026

💐🧚🔥🏹

04/30/2026

Updated Program for Beltane this Saturday, May 2nd is below (will be available on site as well). The weather gods have given us a Scottish summer day which means bring a cloak, sweater, or something to keep you cozy in the breeze, especially as that sun dips down and the stars come out! Feel free to bring your favorite concert chairs or picnic blankets as well. Water bottles are also encouraged for re-use (we will put coolers out).

02/10/2026

The bees are starting to buzz again… spring is coming! We have loads to share but first, some fantastic events to keep you cozy before that snow melts away!

01/23/2026

We’re buzzing back! 🐝✨
After a cozy winter rest to recharge our hives and honey, Thistlerock Mead reopens this weekend—Friday & Saturday 12-7 PM (Sunday 12-5 PM).

Come raise a glass of Piedmont Wildflower (which just won a 🥈at the San Fransisco Chronicle wine competition or our barrel-aged Estate Reserve in our historic tavern.
Fresh pours, good vibes, and the first signs of spring on the horizon.

The bees are ready… are you?
See you at the hive! 🍯

🚨 due to the anticipated snowstorm, we will close early on Jan 24 at 5PM and will be closed on Sunday Jan 25. Celebrations honoring Scottish poet Robbie Burns will be rescheduled soon!

01/20/2026

🚨 Thistlerock Mead Company’s Piedmont Wildflower Mead Earns Silver Medal in 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Charlottesville, VA – January 20, 2026 – Thistlerock Mead Company, a net-zero and mission-driven meadery and apiary located on a regenerative flower farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, proudly announces that its flagship Piedmont Wildflower mead has been awarded a Silver Medal in the prestigious 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

This recognition highlights the exceptional quality of Piedmont Wildflower, a traditional semi-dry mead crafted from a proprietary blend of local Central Virginia wildflower honeys—including estate honey produced within the renowned Monticello AVA. It represents the purest expression of Thistlerock’s estate terroir, capturing notes of spring flowers, white pear, and honeycomb, with an ABV of 12.5%.

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is one of the largest and most respected competitions for North American wines (and now including meads in dedicated categories), drawing professional judges to evaluate thousands of entries. Receiving a Silver Medal in this competitive field underscores Thistlerock’s commitment to pioneering sustainable production practices, regenerative apiculture, and nature-first craftsmanship—from bloom to bottle—within one of Virginia’s most historic and celebrated viticultural areas.

“We are deeply honored by this achievement,” said John Kluge Jr., Co-Founder of Thistlerock Mead Company. “Piedmont Wildflower is more than a mead; it’s a celebration of the land, our pollinators, and the ancient art of mead-making reimagined with modern sustainability at its core. Producing our estate honey in the Monticello AVA adds a special layer of heritage and terroir to our work. This medal validates the hard work of our team and the incredible support from our community as we restore balance between people and nature.”

Thistlerock Mead Company continues to innovate while staying true to its mission-driven ethos, including solar-powered operations and reinvestment in pollinator health and regenerative agriculture.
Piedmont Wildflower and other Thistlerock meads are available for tasting at their location (3075 Gables Run Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902—just minutes from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello) and through select retailers. For more information, visit https://www.thistlerockmead.com or follow on social media.

About Thistlerock Mead Company
Thistlerock Mead Company is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based, net-zero benefit corporation dedicated to crafting exceptional meads using estate and local honeys from the Monticello AVA and surrounding Central Virginia region, while prioritizing environmental stewardship, pollinator support, and sustainable practices.

Media Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (434) 340-1933
For high-resolution images of the mead, awards, apiary, farm, or the Monticello AVA landscape, please contact the media representative.