Maria Peterson was born and raised in South Africa and, from an early age, worked in vineyards.  Ultimately Maria would graduate from the University of Stellenbosch with a major in Oenology and Viticulture.  After graduating, Maria spent most of her time traveling the wine world and completing extended stints in the wineries and vineyards of Napa California, Margaret River in Western Australia, and the Loire Valley and Alsace in France.  Every few years Maria would return to South Africa and complete multiple harvests in order to “quench her thirst for expressing the individuality and spirit of each wine in the vineyard,” no matter which hemisphere.

After Prohibition, Georgia was all but forgotten as a once prominent wine and vine industry. In fact, only in the last few decades has Georgia wine begun to re-emerge as a recognized contributer in the world of wine.  Maria considers Georgia wine to be the ultimate quest to create and reintroduce a “God given miracle to everyone who is adventurous enough to come and experience what Montaluce has to offer.”

“I love Montaluce, the people that work here, and all the challenges and rewards that Georgia offers.” – Maria Peterson