Collection: Maude | Central Otago

Maude is a small, site-driven producer based in Central Otago — New Zealand's southernmost wine region and one of the world's most distinctive cool-climate appellations. Founded by Sarah-Kate and Michael Eder, the estate draws fruit from four sub-districts across the region: Gibbston Valley, Bendigo, Lowburn and Wanaka. Each site contributes distinct character to the wines, unified by Central Otago's dramatic diurnal temperature variation, schist-based soils and intense UV light at altitude.

Why Maude Matters

Maude is one of Central Otago's most respected small producers — a winery that has built its reputation on restraint, precision and a genuine understanding of place. Rather than sourcing from a single estate, Maude works with carefully selected sites across the region's most important sub-districts, blending them to express the diversity of Central Otago through a consistent house style. The result is wines that combine freshness, purity of fruit and balance, making them approachable when young while retaining the structure that cool-climate wine lovers value.

The winery takes its name from Mt Maude, which rises to 1,315 metres above the Wanaka sub-district at 45° South — a reference point that captures both the altitude and the latitude that define Central Otago's character as a wine region.

The Wines

Pinot Gris — Maude's white wine benchmark. A dry, textural style combining 40% French oak barrel fermentation with stainless steel to balance richness and aromatic freshness. Quince, pear, musk and stone fruit with almond meal and spice from oak. Full-bodied and layered, with the natural acidity that Central Otago's cool growing seasons consistently deliver.

Pinot Noir — Central Otago's signature variety and the foundation of Maude's red wine range. The region's schist soils, altitude and diurnal temperature variation produce Pinot Noir of genuine depth and cool-climate precision — dark cherry, red berry and subtle earth, with fine tannin structure and the freshness that has made Central Otago one of the world's great Pinot Noir regions.

Maude & Central Otago

Central Otago is New Zealand's only continental wine region — a landlocked, high-altitude landscape of schist rock, tussock grassland and glacial lakes in the South Island's interior. The region's extreme diurnal temperature variation, with warm days and cold nights throughout the growing season, is the defining force behind its wines: slow, even ripening that builds flavour concentration without sacrificing freshness or natural acidity.

The four sub-districts represented in Maude's wines — Gibbston Valley, Bendigo, Lowburn and Wanaka — each sit within this broader framework but express it differently. Gibbston Valley is the coolest and most elevated, producing wines of exceptional finesse. Bendigo delivers concentration and structure from its north-facing schist terraces. Lowburn contributes aromatic intensity. Wanaka, at the foot of Mt Maude, adds freshness and purity.

Best For

Casual dining and weeknight enjoyment. Dinner parties and summer entertaining. Lovers of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris seeking an authentic taste of Central Otago.