CREW MEMBERS

NOT SHAREHOLDERS. FRIENDS.

Sitting alongside the founding partners, and present from the earliest days, is a second circle: The Motley Crew.

They are not shareholders. They are close, wine-loving friends of the founders who are, in their own words, “fortunately able to enjoy in the dividends.” For the Crew, those dividends are not on a balance sheet. They are an open invitation to the Company’s tastings, called at the shareholders’ discretion, purely to get everyone together, celebrate living in South Africa, and enjoy a glass of something spectacular.

They were tasting, arguing and celebrating around the table long before Maze had a label. Vic calls them, with real affection, the brand’s beloved “lab-rats”: the honest, unfiltered consumer palate that keeps the winemaking grounded in what people actually enjoy drinking.

Peter Judge, "Judgy"
Peter Judge, "Judgy"

The group's chartered accountant and self-appointed numbers man.
Alec "AJ" Lehman, "AJ"
Alec "AJ" Lehman, "AJ"

An insurance broker with a farm of his own in the Karoo.
"Mickey"
"Mickey"

A lifelong friend of Mike's, going back to their school days.
Dr Alan Chesterton, "the Prof"
Dr Alan Chesterton, "the Prof"

The group's most avid collector and de facto sommelier. It was the wine club Mike formed with the Prof, at Mike's house in Constantia, that first opened the door to the tastings and friendships that would go on to shape Maze.

The Motley Crew

YOU DO NOT 
NEED TO OWN SOMETHING TO BE PART OF IT.

Showing up, having good taste, and being a genuine friend is its own kind of contribution. Often it is the kind that keeps a venture honest. The Motley Crew are the friends the wine was always meant to be shared with, long before it was ever meant to be sold. 

Join the crew →
The Motley Crew and the founding members

CREW NOTES.

Good food, serious wine, and the people who make both worth showing up for, that’s the Motley Crew. Some of us mountain bike, some paddle, some prefer a yacht and a good excuse to stay off land. The outdoors is our playground; the table is where we land after. Expect trail stories, cellar notes, and the occasional reason to open something we’ve been saving. Eat well. Drink seriously.
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Maze at the ocean
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A Story of Friendship

How Five Friends Rediscovered Their Inner Child (And Made a Wine About It)

Children learn by being inquisitive. By being excited about the unknown. There's a Peter Pan quality to it,  that pull toward exploration and adventure, that willingness to learn through new experiences, good and bad, all while laughing from the bottom of their bellies.

Somewhere along the way, most of us lose that. Life gets serious. Curiosity gets scheduled around calendars and commitments.

We didn't want to lose it entirely.
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The Motley Crew at Infanta

Late February, and the Motley Crew are back at Infanta for the annual fishing tour, a ritual this group of old friends has kept going for years. As the tide starts to push, three tin boats make their way back to Camp Minx. Prawn baskets are empty after another thrilling afternoon chasing spotted grunter, and the Crew are ready for a cold refreshment. Strict rules on the river: no drinking and fishing. So the Crew are parched, and ready to go.
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The Cogs in a Winemaker’s Brain

So, how much time do we have?

I find it fascinating to look at so many winemakers and their different winemaking techniques, styles and flavour perceptions. How they choose their grapes, when they harvest, what influence they have on the grape-growing conditions and, at the end of it all, how they age their wines.

The parallel wine universes are endless.