The (proud) nerd behind Maud.Lab
Hi! I’m Maud and welcome to the lab. 🧪
I may be new to the wine world but I’m very experienced at changing direction. For 20+ years I worked in marketing and media: clean strategies, clear KPIs, predictable outcomes. Then I deliberately knocked the beaker off the table. I stepped away from the safe formula and started a new experiment.
No guarantees. No control group. Just curiosity.
Which, honestly, is very wine.
Since October 2025, I’ve been “interning” (yes, actually) at De Vinotheek, throwing myself into the beautifully unfiltered world of wine. I’ve tasted a lot, talked shop with importers and local horeca owners, joined professional tastings and built a solid foundation through proper training. I completed SDEN2 at De Proefacademie (passed with an 8.5 in December: still proudly displayed on the wine fridge) and kicked off SDEN3 in January 2026.
Everything I do runs in English on purpose. Utrecht is packed with international wine lovers and wine should feel inviting, not exclusive. I’m Dutch (dus ja, proeverijen in het Nederlands zijn ook possible 😉), but I live in an English-speaking household and spent years working in international organisations. Opening the lab doors wide just feels natural.
This isn’t a polished conclusion.
It’s an ongoing experiment.
A wine in progress.
The Lab (B)log
2026.02.03 | Back to school
I’m back in school again.
Not with a backpack on my Dutch bike but with a glass of wine in my hand. Much better!
Since starting SDEN 3 at De Proefacademie in January 2026, it feels like I’ve somehow been transported back to high school. Only this time… the experiment is way more fun. And drinkable.
Because wine is never just wine.
It’s chemistry, geography, language and history rolled into one lively test tube.
Subject 1: Chemistry (plot twist)
One of my favourite subjects turns out to be chemistry. Who saw that coming?
Vinification processes are endlessly fascinating: from fermentation to ageing, from saignée to passerillage. And the grapes… each one its own mini-experiment with a personality, quirks and serious potential. It feels like magic — but with actual science to back it up.
Subject 2: Geography (wait, where is that again?)
And then there’s geography. Oh, geography.
Where exactly is the Jura again? And which region does the Adige flow through? We keep zooming in: Loire → Muscadet → Anjou → Savennières → Coteaux du Layon. And within those regions? More sub-regions, crus, grapes and styles. Smaller maps, bigger possibilities.
I was never great at geography, and now I’m rediscovering the world step by step. Including hand-drawn maps because remembering everything turns out to be slightly optimistic.
Subject 3: Language (the bottleneck)
Then comes the (wine)bottleneck: language.
I dropped French early on (regrets, yes), so now I’m drilling words like élevage, saignée, vieilles vignes and passerillage. First: what does it mean? Second: how do I pronounce it without embarrassing myself? And we haven’t even touched Italian terms or German variations yet…
So yes, I feel like a 17-year-old gearing up for exam week. A little panic. A lot of notes. A brain running at full fermentation. But luckily, I’m secretly a nerd and genuinely love learning. So you’ll find me in the evening with an atlas on my lap, wines from the shop beside me, thinking: yep, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
And I love it.
Want to quiz me sometime? 😉