Valli

Grant Taylor was born in Kurow in North Otago and grew up surrounded by what would later become wine country. He enrolled at Lincoln College in Canterbury for a diploma in agriculture, found the wine club, took a viticulture course on the side, and from that point forward the trajectory was set. In 1980 he moved to Napa Valley to help establish Pine Ridge, where he made wine until 1986. In 1987 he helped build another Napa property, Domaine Napa, serving as head winemaker until 1993. Along the way he also helped establish Oregon's Archery Summit in 1995. After nearly two decades abroad he was lured back to Otago in 1993 to take up the winemaking job at Gibbston Valley, then one of only a handful of Central Otago wineries, and over the next 13 years he turned it into the region's most decorated cellar. Taylor remained at Gibbston Valley until 2006, when he left to focus full-time on his own label. Valli had been founded in 1998 with the purchase of 16 acres in Gibbston, planted in 1999 and 2000, and named after his great-great grandfather Giuseppe Valli, who emigrated to New Zealand from Como, Italy in 1861 carrying the family's northern Italian winegrowing background with him. From the start the project was about one thing: producing parallel single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from each of Otago's sub-zones so that the differences between them could be read directly in the glass.

• Born in Kurow, North Otago; educated at Lincoln College in Canterbury with a diploma in agriculture and a viticulture course on the side
• Made wine in California (Pine Ridge from 1980, Domaine Napa from 1987 to 1993) and helped establish Oregon's Archery Summit in 1995 before being lured back to Otago
• Head winemaker at Gibbston Valley Wines from 1993 to 2006, building the region's most decorated cellar during his 13-year tenure
• Valli founded in 1998 with the purchase of 16 acres in Gibbston, planted 1999 to 2000; label named after great-great grandfather Giuseppe Valli, who emigrated from Como, Italy to New Zealand in 1861

Grant Taylor is the only winemaker in the world to have won the Pinot Noir Trophy at London's International Wine and Spirit Competition four times, a record built across his Gibbston Valley and Valli tenures. The first arrived early in his Otago career and the trophy returned to his name at intervals across the decade that followed, including with Gibbston Valley fruit, with Valli's own wines, and with grapes he had grown but sold to another label, all of which counted under his hand. The IWSC is one of the longest-running international wine competitions in the world and the Pinot Noir Trophy is awarded to a single wine deemed the best of the variety across the entire global field for that year. Winning it once stamps a winemaker as world-class; winning it four times across multiple producers is the kind of distinction that defines a career. In addition to the IWSC trophies Taylor has won countless gold medals and trophy honours at New Zealand competitions, and Valli wines have continued the run since he turned his focus to his own label, with the Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir among others picking up Central Otago Pinot Noir Trophy honours and IWC Sustainable Trophy recognition in recent years.

• Four-time winner of the Pinot Noir Trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London, a feat unmatched by any other winemaker globally
• Trophy wins span his Gibbston Valley head-winemaker tenure (from 1993 to 2006) and his Valli era; one win came from grapes he had grown but sold to another label
• The IWSC Pinot Noir Trophy is awarded to a single wine judged the best of the variety across the global field for that year
• Valli has continued the trophy run: the Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019 won the IWC Sustainable Trophy, the Central Otago Pinot Noir Trophy, and was named New Zealand Red Trophy winner for 2021

Valli's whole philosophy is built around side-by-side comparison. The Gibbston home block sits at the cool, high-altitude western edge of Central Otago, where ripeness arrives later and the resulting Pinot Noir leans floral, perfumed, and red-fruited with bright acidity. The Bannockburn fruit comes from one of the warmest and earliest-ripening parts of the region, the schist terraces above the Kawarau Gorge that turn out plush, dark-fruited, mid-weight Pinot Noir with notable richness. The Bendigo fruit is from north-facing slopes above the Cromwell Basin and produces the most powerful, concentrated wines in the lineup, with dark cherry, plum, herb, and dense structural grip. The Waitaki Vineyard is the outlier and the most interesting recent chapter: it sits in North Otago around 75 kilometres south of Central Otago proper, on limestone-based soils at roughly 200 metres elevation with maritime influence, in what is officially New Zealand's youngest wine region (first commercial vintage 2004). The vineyard is close-planted at 5,000 vines per hectare with new early-ripening Dijon and Pommard clones, and the Waitaki Pinot Noir reads with the kind of cool, mineral, almost ethereal perfume that has drawn frequent Burgundy comparisons. White wines round out the portfolio: a dry Pinot Gris from Gibbston, Pinot Gris and Riesling from Waitaki, and The Real McCoy, a skin-fermented orange Pinot Gris from the Gibbston home block treated as if it were a red wine with 100% skin fermentation followed by 14 months in used oak.

• Gibbston Vineyard: 16-acre home block planted 1999 to 2000 at 4,050 vines per hectare with clones 777, 115, 114, and UCD 5, cropped at around 1 kg per vine; cool, high-altitude western edge of Central Otago
• Bannockburn: warm, early-ripening schist terraces above the Kawarau Gorge; richer, plusher, dark-fruited Pinot Noir
• Bendigo: north-facing slopes above the Cromwell Basin; the most powerful and concentrated of the four single-vineyard Pinot Noirs
• Waitaki Vineyard (North Otago): limestone-based soils at ~200 metres elevation, 5,000 vines per hectare with new Dijon and Pommard clones, in NZ's youngest commercial wine region (first vintage 2004); cool, mineral, Burgundy-leaning Pinot Noir plus Pinot Gris and Riesling

Valli's winemaking sits in the Burgundian discipline: indigenous yeast fermentations, partial whole-cluster inclusion that varies by vintage and vineyard, gentle plunging and pump-overs rather than aggressive extraction, ageing in French oak with a modest new-oak component, and minimal sulphur additions before bottling. Each of the four single-vineyard Pinot Noirs is vinified separately so that the differences between sites read clearly through the same hand and the same cellar philosophy; this is what makes a vertical or horizontal tasting across all four bottlings such an effective teaching tool. The Gibbston Pinot Noir is the most perfumed and detailed, the Bannockburn shows the deepest mid-palate richness, the Bendigo brings the most concentration and structural intensity, and the Waitaki reads with the coolest profile and the most overt mineral framing. Whites are made with the same restraint: the Waitaki Pinot Gris and Riesling lean dry, taut, and mineral-driven thanks to the limestone-rich North Otago soils, while the Gibbston Pinot Gris keeps a similar dry, savoury register from the cooler home block. The Real McCoy is the experimental piece of the range, a Pinot Gris fermented entirely on skins for orange-wine texture and then aged 14 months in used oak; the 2023 vintage is the ninth release and the wine has become a small cult success among adventurous drinkers and somms.

• Indigenous yeast fermentation, partial whole-cluster inclusion, gentle extraction, French oak ageing with modest new-oak component, minimal sulphur before bottling
• Each single-vineyard Pinot Noir vinified separately so that sub-zone differences read directly: Gibbston perfume, Bannockburn richness, Bendigo concentration, Waitaki minerality
• White wines: dry Pinot Gris from Gibbston, Pinot Gris and Riesling from Waitaki, all dry, taut, and mineral-leaning
• The Real McCoy: Pinot Gris from Gibbston fermented 100% on skins then aged 14 months in used oak; 2023 vintage is the ninth release of the skin-fermented orange style

By 2015 the Valli portfolio had grown to four single-vineyard sites across two regions and Grant Taylor brought in established Central Otago winemaker Jen Parr to share the cellar. Parr had run Olssens (which later became Terra Sancta) as head winemaker from 2009 to 2014, building a reputation for precision and a deep feel for Central Otago Pinot Noir. At Valli she and Grant work together across all wines, with a shared commitment articulated as honesty, integrity, and a sense of place. Parr has become one of New Zealand's most respected Pinot Noir voices in her own right and her arrival has both deepened Valli's bench and signalled long-term continuity for the label beyond Grant. Farming practices across the four vineyards are organic and sustainable, and certified organic and biodynamic fruit has been used in some of the Pinot Noir bottlings with ambient yeasts and partial whole-cluster ferments. The label remains small relative to Central Otago's larger producers, intentionally so: Valli's identity is bound up in the four single-vineyard bottlings and the comparative-terroir conversation they invite, and the scale stays tight to keep that focus intact.

• Jen Parr joined Valli in 2015 after head-winemaker tenure at Olssens (later Terra Sancta) from 2009 to 2014; widely regarded as one of New Zealand's leading Pinot Noir voices
• Grant Taylor and Jen Parr share the cellar across all wines with a stated focus on honesty, integrity, and a sense of place
• Farming practices across the four vineyards are organic and sustainable; certified organic and biodynamic fruit has featured in some Pinot Noir productions with ambient yeasts and partial whole-cluster inclusion
• Label remains intentionally small to keep focus on the four single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and the comparative-terroir program they exist to articulate