KingView Meadhouse and Winery is advertised as a “Place to eat and drink like a Viking” so of course we just had to check it out during a recent visit to Pittsburgh, PA. Founder Scott Neeley has been crafting mead since 2011 but it was the enticing selection of hard cider that lured us to their Mt. Lebanon location. And yes, said location does indeed resemble a Viking drinking hall – only with much friendlier servers. With such a large and diverse selection of wines, meads, and ciders, we were slightly overwhelmed with deciding where to start and what to sample.
We finally chose to begin with the hard ciders and the flavors offered by KingView were unlike any I’ve ever encountered. The Apples to Oranges cider actually tasted like cream soda while the Banana Berry started out with tropical fruitiness yet tasted like Sweet Tarts candy on the finish! Even something as seemingly basic like the Cranberry cider didn’t follow my flavor expectations as it was not tart but rather fruity and sweet. Don’t Be an Apphole not only the won the award for best named hard cider but was also deliciously dry with citrus notes.
While meads are not usually in my wheelhouse as I find them too strong and off-putting, I nevertheless elected to try some of KingView’s sweeter offerings and became an instant fan of the Happy Apple Pie, Key Lime, and Watermelon Strawberry. And last but not least - the wines. For a sweet lover like myself tasting KingView’s Pinot Grigio, Niagra, Catawba, and Fruit Moon Sangria was like entering Valhalla.
KingView’s food menu is almost as impressive as its beverages – offering up lobster rolls, salads, flatbreads, wings and much more. And if you’re looking for entertainment as you imbibe, they also host comedy nights and live music. I encourage all who stop there to sample outside of their usual libations as I had done – you never know what hidden riches you might discover.