Virginia Webb is once again producing what has been dubbed the world’s best-tasting honey in the peaceful hills of Northeast Georgia, where Sourwood trees bloom momentarily and bees hum obediently through the summer heat.
Recently, Webb, who owns MountnHoney in Clarkesville, won the International Black Jar Honey Tasting Contest’s Grand Prize. This esteemed event, which is in its fourteenth year and is hosted by the Center for Honeybee Research, evaluates thousands of submissions from all over the world using the straightforward but effective criterion of taste.
Webb has taken the lead for the second time.Hulsey, Katelynn (NowHabersham.com)
Webb’s honey has gained international acclaim at the World Honey Show, a larger international competition organized by the World Beekeeping Federation, commonly known as Apimondia, whereas the Black Jar Contest only considers flavor. She has won five gold medals there throughout the years, representing Georgia and excellence on the international scene in Ireland (2005), France (2009), Ukraine (2013), South Korea (2015), and Turkey (2022).
From hive to jar
Years of training and dedication have led to Webb’s remarkable accolades.
She coordinates every stage of the meticulously planned honey-gathering process, from the hives that dot the area surrounding her home in the slopes of the Blue Ridge to the honey house where she collects the golden sweetness.
Webb carefully removes each wooden frame after bees fill the upper boxes, known as supers, of the hive with extra honey. Before putting the honeycomb in a centrifuge to extract the honey, she and her assistants scrape off the wax tops.
An early start
Virginia began beekeeping at a young age. When I was six years old, my father gave me my first hive as a birthday present, she recalled. A lifetime devotion that would eventually become a worldwide legacy was ignited by her father, Joe Stephens.
Virginia’s early years were filled with bees, family, and purpose, from winning Tennessee’s first 4-H state beekeeping championship to being the Tennessee State Honey Queen.In her honey home north of Clarkesville, Georgia, world-renowned beekeeper Virginia Webb is hard at work. Hulsey, Katelynn (NowHabersham.com)
MtnHoney, which makes raw, unfiltered, and never-heated honey, is a successful business today. “That’s what makes us unique,” she said. Honey loses its antibacterial properties and enzymes when heated. Ours comes directly from the hive, as nature intended.
More than a natural sweetener
The value of Webb’s Sourwood honey extends beyond its taste. It has been demonstrated that local raw honey, such as hers, can help with digestion, immune system support, and allergy relief.
People claim that because it’s based on what’s flowering around them, it makes them feel better, she added. The jar contains what’s in the air.
The Sourwood tree, a native species with a limited blooming season and a mild, buttery taste, is the source of that uncommon flavor.
“Good Sourwood honey doesn’t just happen to find you,” she said. You pray for it, you prepare for it, and when it comes, you give thanks to the bees.
A legacy built on love
More than 400 colonies and a certified Russian queen bee yard were part of Virginia and her late husband Carl’s professional beekeeping legacy. She continues that tradition today with accuracy, fervor, and purpose.
In addition to being the only individual in the United States to possess master beekeeper certificates from Georgia, Florida, and the Eastern Apiculture Society, Webb is the only recognized Russian queen breeder in Georgia. Through collaborations with organizations like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she trains beekeepers all over the world, from the Caribbean to Europe and the U.S., and she serves on national beekeeping boards.
She frequently speaks at civic organizations, churches, and schools as a passionate advocate for bee education. We have a higher chance of saving bees if more people are aware of them, she said. A third of the food we eat comes from pollinators. This is about survival, not just about honey.
Sharing her passion and knowledge
Webb taught beekeeping at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Cherokee County, North Carolina, for almost twenty years. Colleagues said Webb, who just retired, shared her love of teaching others in addition to her knowledge of honeybee biology and hive management.(Habersham/Margie Williamson)
In addition to sharing a great deal of knowledge, honey, and beeswax, Virginia shared her passion for honeybees with everyone she encountered at the Folk School! Karen Hurtubise, the Folk School’s creative advisor for the nature studies and gardening programs, remarked. She has contributed to paving the way for outstanding educators and beekeeping expertise to continue for the next century.
According to a school spokeswoman, Webb demystified the intricacies of maintaining healthy hives, making honey, and promoting pollinator health through practical training.
Hurtubise, who bonded over their East Tennessee heritage, claimed that Webb influenced her as much as students.
I learned from Virginia to value friendship, life, and honeybees. She thinks things will work out fine. Even though it can be difficult at times, she serves as an example of perseverance. Continue.
What makes it golden
And she has continued. Despite losing her spouse to cancer, Webb has made a concerted effort to preserve their legacy and life’s work. MtnHoney has been named a finalist for the Good Food Award, which honors sustainable American food producers, for the last five years.This honor stand along Gastley Road in Clarkesville, Georgia, sells some of the best honey in the world. (NowHabersham/Wallace Wenn)
According to Webb, it’s about respecting the bees, the procedure, and the ultimate goal. She grinned and remarked, “I just love it,” surrounded by the equipment of her profession and the bustle of her six million-strong crew. I enjoy sharing what I do with others because I love it myself.
Even though her honey has won numerous awards worldwide, its true value lies in its love, passion, and legacy.
Visit mtnhoney.com or visit her roadside stand at 349 Gastley Road in Clarkesville, Georgia, to sample award-winning honey or find out more.
