The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Mead is wine made from honey instead of grapes. A new winery featuring the buzzing bee's nectar in its wine is opening on Main Street in Dayton soon, almost a year after it was first announced.

The grand opening for Mace Meadworks is set for Friday and Saturday, August 19 -20th. Lots of live music will be featured at the opening .

D aergan Guy, Quincy Harper, DJ Sailsworth and Table of Contents are all scheduled to perform. The full lineup of events is posted at www.macemeadworks.com.

Andrae's Kitchen of Walla Walla will be providing the food with the entertainment. Plenty of good, one-of-akind wines will be on tap.

" I'm currently buying honey from different bee keepers in the area to make my wine," owner, operator and winemaker Reggie Mace said "Wolf Park Apiary and Octopus Garden honey to start.

"I hope to try to make honey from all kinds of bees and blossoms," he said. "I'm getting honey from wildflower and star thistle blossoms and will use other blossoms including lavender and alfalfa in the future."

Two different promotions for his wine will be taking place soon --the Genesis Group and the Buzz Club.

The Buzz Club is similar to other wine clubs in the area. It features discounts on wines, regular shipments of wine, a welcome package, access to private wines and invitations to Mace Meadworks events.

The Genesis Group is more than just a wine club. It is an invitation to vacationing in Dayton like no other, according to Mace.

The group is limited to 60 members and will include services for a complete vacation.

"We have different aging Mead barrel wines that the members can use to make their own blend. Not only do they get to make wine -- we cater their meals, set up their sleeping accommodations and pick them up from the airport," he said.

"We currently have many people signed up for the Buzz Club and hope to jump start the Genesis Club next summer," Mace explained.

Mace comes from an interesting background and that helps to serve his new idea for the area, the honey wine or Mead.

Mace has worked at Dunham Cellars in the past and has a degree in art from Walla Walla University. He is a guitar musician who still does some painting and hopes his life experiences will serve him well in his new endeavor.

The idea for Mead hasn't been real popular in recent times. It has, however, been around in every ancient culture from Babylon to medieval Europe. More modern alcoholic beverages have been from European traditions of grape wines and beers.

Mace hopes to see a resurgence in the Mead's popularity. According to him, it is worth a try anyway.

"With Walla Walla and its 100 plus wineries, I needed something to stand out and separate myself from the others and I hope Mead will do just that," Mace said.

Mace sees a helping hand in the community and its location right downtown.

"We have a really good location on Main Street with good neighbors and great people," he said. "I can even see a good healthy symbiotic relationship between us, the other bars and wine bars here in town. We can all help to draw in the people."

Mace looks forward to the opportunity to be his own boss and run his own business.

"It is great to have that independence and freedom as a business owner," he said. "I've always had a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, a lot of ideas and I want to try them out. I can't do that while trying to just make money from other people and listen to their ideas."

After the grand opening, Mace plans to have the shop open every Friday and Saturday with more hours to follow in the future. He wants to have live music at least one weekend a month.

He will continue to make wine year round, as he won't be limited to harvest grapes. Plans for further expansion and more employees are also in the future.

Right now, just him and his wife, Heather, will be the only full-time employees. Heather will take care of the books and office work. He plans to do the winemaking, selling and wine bar operation.