Wingfield Honey Co.
A Little History
Beekeeping and queen rearing was a large part of my upbringing. I fondly remember catching queens with my brother and parents in the Sutter Buttes. These bee yards were often our playgrounds, all the meanwhile helping our parents. Helping out often meant dipping wax cell cups and then dipping our hands and other articles in the hot wax, too!
Real Honey from real Beekeepers
Rest assured that the honey and wax products you purchase from us are genuine and authentic, from our approx. 600 bee hives. We care for and manage our bees all on our own, including extracting honey, bottling and labeling all of our honey. You might be wondering then, why would I write a headline about "Real Honey and Real Beekeepers"?
If you want to know more about fake honey, or the shenanigans going on in the US honey market, I would recommend watching a documentary called "Rotten" on Netflix, namely S1 Ep1 "Lawyers, Guns, and Honey".
Additionally, typical honey on the supermarket shelf, may not be honey at all. And if it does contain some honey, it is likely heated to pasteurization temperatures so that it is easy to push through a very small filter, two processes that will destroy beneficial enzymes in the honey, as well as remove all the natural pollens.
Nevada County Honeybees
They are the stars of the show. So we treat them as such. We understand that the Varroa mite is the biggest manageable threat to the health and survival of our bees. We manage our bees in a more "organic" fashion by never introducing synthetic chemicals or antibiotics into our hives. We use only labeled and approved organic treatments. Can the residues found in the honey, from synthetic chemicals and antibiotics, pose health concerns? We do not know the answer to this, but why take the chance? The USDA released the Honey Commercial Item Description CID (A-A-20380), which highlights limits on residues in honey "Table III". But are they being tested by commercial honey packers and are they being adhered to, highly doubtful. Buy our honey, and rest assured there will be zero residues of any of these chemicals or antibiotics.
Nevada County Honey
Montana Honey
We gently warm our honey and use a large mesh to gravity strain our honey. This will remove the larger pieces of wax and any hive debris encountered during the bottling process. Temperatures do not exceed 105 degrees, and are only at those temps for a brief period. We do not want to alter the natural characteristics of the honey that was originally created by the honey bees. Every floral source that provides nectar for the bees, also has a distinct set of characteristics that make it unique, including the terrior (minerals in the honey) of the region and climate. The honey bees transcend these characteristics in the distinct color, aroma and taste of the honey they create. We are extremely grateful for honey bees!
spenceR WingfIElD
Head Beekeeper
VP Nevada County Beekeepers
We do things a bit differently. If you have any questions, please ask!
mallory
Head of Bee box R & D
Lastly, Mallory was found in a blackberry bush in a bee yard Spring 2017. When we found her, she had barely opened her eyes and already owning her battle wound--her crooked tail. Thats why we call her "Lightening Bolt," she's got so much personality!
We purchased Bourbon Hill Bees in early 2018 and have since merged in to one business, Wingfield Honey Company.
Previous owners, Brion and Alice Dunbar, have been wonderful in helping us reach out to the community and remain a big part of the Nevada County, California.
