Our Team
Meet the team at Muddy Water winery...
Dom Dominic Maxwell - Winemaker
Dom brings a wealth of knowledge on vinification of cool climate varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling from regions around the world such as Burgundy, Oregon and the Rheingau.
Along with extensive local experience with working with these varieties from the Waipara Valley hillsides - Dom's obsession to quality, following Organic principles will lead to exciting wines from our estate grown fruit.
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Miranda Brown – Viticulturalist
Miranda's love of growing plants and being outdoors took her to Lincoln University where she studied viticulture with a focus on sustainable/organic production. After finishing her studies she worked in vineyards in Marlborough, Central Otago and Canterbury with a small sojourn as a cellarhand at a Californian winery.
It was in the vineyard though that she most enjoyed working as this is where she believes the first and most significant step toward making quality wine lies. After a small tour of the world (just get her started talking about travel and she’ll never stop) she found herself back in her home province of Canterbury and working in Waipara.
The Waipara valley had always appealed due to its ideal climate and soils for winegrowing and the predominantly small family owned wineries that make up the region. Its climate is also particularly suited to organic production, something Miranda has long been passionate about.
Miranda has been part of the Muddy Water team since the end of 2005. At a job interview early in her career, Miranda was asked where she saw herself in ten years time. Her response was “to be working for a small, quality producer, where they are continually trying improve on what they do” (at the time this maybe was not the most appropriate answer given that she was applying for a job with a large corporate!).
So its no accident that six years later she applied to be vineyard manager at Muddy Water. She had always enjoyed the Muddy Water wines and the Muddy Water ethos matched her own in that wine is made in the vineyard.
“It is such a fantastic vineyard to work in, especially as everyone in the Muddy Water team shares the same ideal about making wines that truly reflect the site and season in which they are grown”
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Sylvain Taupenas – Assistant Winemaker
Sylvain is our latest team member. Born and raised in France near the Swiss border, he initially trained as sommelier and Chef. Sylvain used to work in top restaurants in France and Switzerland (Marc Veyrat, Paul Bocuse, l’Ambroisie, Lenotre...).
He came to New Zealand in September 2006 to have a break for a year, and hasn’t left. He travelled around New Zealand for several months before settling in Christchurch where he worked at Saggio di Vino as a sommelier.
He learnt a lot about NZ and Australian wines working at Saggio’s:“It was very hard to find NZ wine in Europe, especially in France.”
He tried lots of wines to improve his knowledge. At Saggio’s he was responsible for the improvement of the wine list.
After meeting Jane and Mike East in early 2007, Sylvain helped at Muddy Water as a volunteer for the 2007 and 2008 harvests. This was a great opportunity for him to get to understand the whole winemaking process.
“I have been only at the end of the line (pouring wine to the customer) but never at the beginning.”
This is where Sylvain met Belinda, at the beginning communication was difficult, but some handmade pain aux chocolate and a few beers from the Brew Moon smoothed the way to a great working relationship.
Sylvain began working full time at Muddy Water in October 2008 where he shares his time between the winery and the vineyard.
“It’s great to have this kind of flexibility in my job. I learn a lot in the vineyard and in the winery; I am not focused only in one job.”
Sylvain has also been studying toward a certificate in winemaking and viticulture through the EIT to increase his understanding of the whole winemaking process.
2009 was his first vintage in Waipara: “It was hard but happy, interesting and challenging.”
Late 2009 he headed to Oregon for the vintage, and worked there for three months for a small winery. He had the opportunity to work with consultant winemaker Dominic Lafon (Burgundy’s guru) and Isabelle Meunier, the head winemaker.
2010 brought his second vintage at Muddy Water: “So easy this year 
”. He plans to go to Oregon again for the 2010 vintage.
Sylvain is friendly and passionate about food and wine. He also does wine tasting at Muddy Water when Belinda is busy. You might meet him on your next trip to Muddy Water.
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