SA winemaker adds sparkling twist to mead

The late winemaker Ken Maxwell spruiked the virtues of drinking mead way back in the 1950s, when he began experimenting with the ancient drink. In the 1960s, when he managed The Barn restaurant in McLaren Vale, he gave away free tastes of his home brew to guests on arrival. Later, Maxwell became the first commercial producer of mead (under the Daringa label), but it wasn’t until he started Maxwell Wines at McLaren Vale in 1979 that he began producing under the Maxwell Mead label.