Get to know

Mavrique

Our Mission:

As a team of friends and colleagues with deep roots in the California and global wine world, we have learned to appreciate exceptional wines true to their varietal, appellation and vintage.

But as active sports and fitness addicts, we look for opportunities to balance our wine lifestyles and passion for health and wellness. Disappointed by many of the available options, we have spent years researching and testing ways to deliver outstanding aromas, taste and body in alcohol-removed alternatives to our favorite varietals.

Now we are working together to bring you a first of its kind alcohol-removed wine experience. Starting with two of our favorite Sonoma varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, we know that both of these pair beautifully with most types of food. Enjoy our wines for all your special occasions with friends, family or on your own. Celebrate Well!

SHOP OUR WINES

Our Brand:

Founded by two women partnered with the first female Master of Wine in the US, Nova Cadamatre, the three of us set out to shatter the mystery of why exceptional, great tasting alcohol-removed wine is so difficult to achieve.

By combining the traditions and history of viticulture, fine winemaking, and years of research and testing, we have built our brand.

We operate where tradition meets innovation, leveraging a new method for gently easing the alcohol out of finished luxury wine, without removing the flavors and aromas. We’re shattering norms by delivering exceptional taste in a sustainable package - a lightweight, elegant bottle and glass closure shipped in recycled and recyclable packaging – true Mavriques!

Our Team:

Rita Valois

Co-Founder and CEO

As Mavrique Wines co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rita Valois brings more than 40 years of business experience in solving complex problems and driving growth – whether in business, project teams or young professionals’ careers. Rita’s background spans strategy, operations, finance and technology, primarily in the consumer products industry, focused heavily on beverage companies.

After earning her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Rita spent more than 15 years as a partner in top-tier management consulting firms, including Deloitte Consulting and Ernst & Young, where she built and led global teams. She has also served as an executive leader in multiple public companies, including a division of Brown-Forman; Australia-based Foster’s Group; Treasury Wine Estates, a global wine producer; and Abbott Nutrition, the nutritional beverage products unit of the Fortune 100 Abbott brand.

Since stepping away from the corporate world, Rita works as an advisor to early-stage businesses with a focus on women-owned companies. In 2019, she began exploring the non-alcoholic beverage industry and evolving alcohol removal methods, serving as board director to both Grüvi, an early-stage non-alcoholic beer and wine business, and Wander + Ivy, a woman-owned single-serve organic wine company. A personal interest in non-alcoholic wines led to her recognition of a gap in the luxury wine market, and in 2025, she co-founded Mavrique Wines, a luxury alcohol-removed wine brand utilizing revolutionary dealcoholizing technology, with her colleague and friend, Maggie Huffman. Their shared experiences as women leaders in male-dominated industries inspired them to build the female-founded brand and collaborate with winemaking icon, Nova Cadamatre, another long-time colleague.

When she’s not advising early-stage businesses, Rita continues to grow her wine knowledge, currently certified at the WSET Levels 1 and 2 and is working toward her WSET Level 3. Having lived across the US and the globe, Rita and her family and two dogs call Denver home. When not working, she enjoys long-distance biking in the Colorado mountains, CrossFit training, supporting her favorite charities, and improving her drumming skills.

Maggie Huffman

Co-Founder and COO

With more than 30 years of experience in the wine industry, spanning production management to corporate intricacies, Maggie Huffman brings a wealth of knowledge to Mavrique as the brand’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer.  

Raised in Sonoma, California, Maggie went away for college and grad school, pursuing degrees that had nothing to do with wine. However, when she returned to Sonoma, she took a look around and realized that if she wanted to continue to live in wine country, she should probably think about joining the industry. Her career at Robert Mondavi Winery, where she followed a pretty typical path: she started as a temp one harvest and just never left. She quickly climbed the ladder working across the organization – from grape to bottle as she likes to say – in winemaking, viticulture, grower relations, supply planning, and compliance departments until stepping into the role of director of process improvement where she led multiple initiatives. 

Later, Maggie represented Mondavi in a partnership with Fosters Wine Estates (now Treasury Wine Estates) and JD Edwards to develop the first wine industry-specific software solution integrated into an enterprise planning resource suite. Shortly after, she then joined Fosters Wine Estates to lead the implementation of this solution. She became part of the Wine Leadership Team and took on various major transformation projects, including managing the U.S. transition to Treasury Wine Estates. She first worked directly with Rita Valois as they built the IT structure for the new company.  She was the interim CIO in 2013.  

After leaving the corporate wine world in 2014, Maggie became a consultant for the wine and agriculture industries, focusing on systems design and implementation as well as leadership coaching and development. In her spare time, she wrote four books and developed a new coaching modality – Color Thinking. She also worked with Rita off and on again over the years. 

Noticing a gap in the market for luxury non-alcoholic wine in 2025, Maggie and Rita partnered co-found Mavrique Wines, a luxury non-alcoholic wine brand utilizing revolutionary dealcoholizing technology. Their shared experiences as women leaders in male-dominated industries inspired them to build the female-founded brand and collaborate with Nova Cadamatre. Ever the innovator, Maggie has helped Mavrique implement groundbreaking processes and more sustainable packaging while still producing luxury, non-alcoholic wine that’s fit to celebrate any occasion. 

Nova Cadamatre MW

Master Winemaker

Nova Cadamatre is the award-winning winemaker behind Mavrique. The first female winemaker in the US to receive the Master of Wine title and a Top 40 Under 40 recipient from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Nova nurtures a true talent for crafting quality, luxury wines.

Nova holds a Bachelor of Science in Viticulture from Cornell University before going on to receive the level 3 and 4 WSET certifications and ultimately the Master of Wine title in 2017. Nova works with some of the finest wineries and vineyards in the world. Previously she worked for Robert Mondavi Winery, where she created the number six wine of 2022 for Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list. An avid supporter of women in wine, Nova founded four of her own wine brands: Trestle Thirty One, Snowshell Vineyards, Fiadh Ruadh, and Sorèlune. Currently, Nova continues to run her own wine company and consulting business, specializing in luxury wine.

In her years working with Treasury Wine Estates and Robert Mondavi, Nova often crossed paths with Mavrique co-founder Maggie Huffman. Given Nova's experience in luxury wine, female-founded brands and non-alcoholic wine, she was the undisputed choice to serve as the pioneering brand’s winemaker, joining the team in 2025. Nova crafted the first Mavrique varietals, a 2025 Russian River Chardonnay and 2025 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, and she will continue to imbue innovation and premium quality into the brand’s future varietals.

Outside of winemaking, Nova serves as a member of the board of directors for the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance and a part-time instructor for the Napa Valley Wine Academy.

Hank Windmoeller, CPA

Chief Financial Officer