Maxim Wines

About

Maxim Wines was established in 2016 by experienced winemaker, Darragh Hughes. Darragh has worked in the wine industry for 12 years (the last eight in Hawke’s Bay), and has travelled to France and the United States to assist in harvests. He now works as a Senior Winemaker for one of NZ’s top wineries.

Maxim makes extremely small batches of beautiful handcrafted wines from carefully selected sites and growers within Hawke’s Bay. Darragh’s winemaking approach is gentle, with minimal handling and additions. He also has a particular passion for Hawke’s Bay Chenin Blanc and Syrah – which of course, are the varietals he produces. 

Darragh tells his story best… “It’s my aim to make wines that are an honest expression of where they’re from and how they’re made. My wines speak the truth of the soil beneath the vines, the sun that ripened the fruit and the light touch that shaped the finished drop.

I love working as a winemaker, and can’t imagine working as anything else. I get immense satisfaction producing a product off the land and selling it. Hawke’s Bay is a beautiful area to grow grapes and live. Every growing season is different and exciting, and I have always played the cards that mother nature gives us every vintage. Coming into harvest I often have a game plan of how the wines will be made, but this changes depending on the weather and other influences. I find you have to adapt and change and let the wine speak of that vintage. It takes time in the industry as a winemaker to understand wine and only impact the wine when required. 

There are many challenges for a small producer in New Zealand. It is a small and very competitive market with lots of great wine on offer. I find I have to be very creative with little marketing budget, the best thing I can do is be authentic and make the best wine possible with passion”.