Margaux Hyacinthe, known for MH wines, is a young entrepreneur with a great passion for international trade and new-world wines. Together with her partner in crime, the dog Jimmy, she functions as a liaison between new world winemakers and importers within Europe. On top of that, she has her own portfolio of beautiful, carefully selected wines for the Dutch hospitality market and wine shops. A power woman? I would say so!
Margaux was born in a small town called Cholet in the Loire Valley, France. The town has the big city of Nantes on the left-hand side and the wine region of Anjou on the right-hand side. From a very young age, Margaux has always been exposed to good wine and winemaking, as an insertion of a way of life. With friends she would frequently visit cellars to participate in wine tastings and quality bottles of wine were uncorked during family gatherings.
Even with all that exposure, Margaux decided to pursue her first passion and study master’s in international trade and supply management. Which would come in handy in her later enterprise. During her studies, she did internships in Barcelona and Ecuador, enabling her to develop her ability to speak the Spanish language.
After graduation Margaux planned to apply to a company in the US, but lucky for us the company decided to let Margaux start her job in The Netherlands. Her parents are profound fans of quality wine and have led Margaux, which is named after a famous wine region in Bordeaux, to develop an interest in wines in general, and quality wines in specific. She decided to study WSET 2 and WSET 3 to gain more knowledge and feed her interest and passion. During these studies, she became more and more aware of the quality coming from new world countries and she became curious about wines coming from outside of the classical old world.
A few years ago, she founded the company MHDL Wines together with her mentor from Chile, who introduced her to the beauty of Chilean wines. After two years, Margaux got the opportunity to have full ownership and renamed it MH Wines!
MH wines today has grown and developed so much since it was founded and is so much more than your typical importer. She took it on as her mission to bring more diversity to the Dutch market. Her specialty in New World wines ensures that consumers and sommeliers from The Netherlands know that there is more quality wine out there, other than coming from your typical France, Spain, or Italy. Being French herself, this shows a high level of awareness. Focussing on new world wines, in her words, brings more challenge and bigger risk to the mix.
“If I would focus only on French wine, my portfolio would sell itself. But now I have the chance to introduce the wines, explain about them, and really educate people.” Says Margaux
“Working with challenge brings me more fulfillment.” According to Margaux.
This only fuels her passion.
During her travels and conversations with winemakers, Margaux noticed that a lot of them had trouble getting a foot in the European market, which is still dominated by the classic world. She also noticed that small importers in Europe not always find a way to reach wineries on the other side of the world. The shipment to countries within the European Union has a complex supply chain. This challenge makes importers stay mainly within Europe. Which is a shame because this leads to lost chances. Luckily Margaux found a way to help both the wineries and the importers! She is able to ship containers of wine from all over the world to her warehouse in Amsterdam, after that she sells smaller quantities of this wine to importers all over Europe, 16 of them in total. This way she is acting as a project manager and covers all the paperwork for shipment and sale to the importers. That way a winery from Chile has the chance to penetrate the European market and an importer from Greece has the chance to expand their portfolio with these wines. An amazing thing Margaux is doing!
Of course, Margaux does not stand alone, her partner in crime, or should I say mascot is the wonderful Jimmy! Jimmy is a furry Australian Shepard and the cutest thing you have ever seen. Jimmy manages the social media marketing, where he looks amazing in every picture, he visits wineries along with Margaux and ensures that clients feel comfortable. Jimmy is a vital part of MH Wines!
With her eye on the future, Margaux wishes to continue to inspire and educate people, being the liaison between new world wineries and European importers, and adding a few new countries to the mix, like Australia or the US.
Follow Margaux and of course, Jimmy online on Instagram @Margaux.wines and @mhwines.nl or visit the website www.mhwines.nl
Thank you, Margaux Hyacinthe, for this exclusive interview!
