South BlueRidge Summer: Sourwood as a Gift Jar

Gift lists get personal fast once cooler weather shows up.

Someone on yours already knows sourwood, or they will the second they taste it. They do not want a candle. They do not want a jar you have to apologize for at the door. They want honey that tastes like a real summer bloom, not a mountain word printed on a grocery blend.

On our farm in Bremo Bluff, that jar is South BlueRidge Summer. Raw sourwood honey. Unfiltered. Packed here. Never pasteurized.

If you want the yard story behind the name, there is a September blog about sourwood country. Check it out, too. The tiny white blossoms are dainty and it's amazing to watch the bees work them.

What sourwood tastes like in the jar

South BlueRidge Summer is our sourwood jar. Honeysuckle up front. Apricot in the middle. A little citrus at the finish. We do not stir those notes in. The bloom does that work, or it doesn't.

People chase sourwood the way they chase a grape varietal they already love. Put it on toast with brie cheese. Stir it into tea. Set it on a board next to cheese and let the room decide. Those are the farm uses we already say out loud.

BlueRidge Foothills is a different jar on the same shelf. It comes from a nearby area but it is not the same. Names here are meant to tell the truth about where and what blooms the bees worked. If someone asked for sourwood, stay on South BlueRidge Summer Honey. Do not hand them a stronger honey with a mountain word taped on.

Pick the size that fits the person

Live sizes on the page right now:

• 3 oz at $12.50. Stocking height. Teacher desk. A first taste when you are not sure how big their honey habit is.
• 6 oz at $19.50. The host jar most people wrap.
• 12 oz at $36.50. For the person who already loves sourwood and will empty a small jar too fast.

A short plan for the gift

Open the South BlueRidge Summer page. Choose the size. Add it.

If the same order needs a second named jar, pull that from the honey collection. If they need a flight instead of one sourwood bottle, that is a different gift path. This post is the single sourwood jar.

Order online. Ship it, or choose farm pickup. We email or text to set the pickup time.

Farm store: 3456 James Madison Hwy, Bremo Bluff, VA 23022. Monday and Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Tuesday through Thursday by appointment only. Saturday and Sunday closed (private tours and appointments only). Phone (804) 380-5820.

Stony Point: 9200 Stony Point Parkway Ste 158A, Richmond. Tuesday through Thursday 10 to 4 or by appointment. Check hours and the driveway before you drive.

We'll post the last ship date when we lock it. Until then, don't build a holiday plan around a cutoff we haven't published.

We sell the jar we pack. You read the page. You decide if that sourwood belongs on your gift list.

Shop South BlueRidge Summer. Browse the rest of our honey if the list needs a second named jar.

Journey with the Bees.