Introduction

Maude Wines produce premium Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris from their winery in Wanaka, Central Otago. Dan and Sarah-Kate Dineen have blended over two decades of international winemaking experience and expertise to produce wines that showcase the essence of New Zealand.

The Winemakers

Dan and Sarah-Kate Dineen are a unique winemaking couple. When they married in January 2003 they were described as "the beginning of a new wine dynasty". Both are winemakers with a depth of experience in the Hunter Valley, Australia and Europe who have decided to move back to family and New Zealand, now making wine in the exciting region of Central Otago.

The Wines

Part of the motivation to move to Central Otago was the eternal search for the holy grail of winemaking, Pinot Noir perfection, and to join forces with Sarah-Kate's vineyard owning parents, Dawn and Dr Terry Wilson. The family were excited by the opportunity to combine Sarah-Kate and Dan's strongly held belief in sourcing grape varieties from the regions that they best perform in, complementing the exquisite small quantities of single vineyard fruit that Dawn and Terry produce at their Mount Maude vineyard.

Hence 'Maude' was created to showcase the very best of New Zealand's wine growing regions and currently consists of a Central Otago Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. In comparison Mount Maude Wines continues to be solely from the family vineyard and is the pinnacle of the brand.

Sarah-Kate and Dan’s ultimate goal is to make first class Pinot Noir and illustrating that they don't underestimate the monumental nature of this task, Dan says, "It will take a lifetime to truly understand the variety and how it performs under different conditions but SK and I will have a lot of fun learning.”