A Pioneering Winemaker

MEET THE OWNER AND WINEMAKER OF VALLI WINES, WHO IN THELAST ISSUE OF WORLD OF WINE, WAS AWARDED FIVE 96 OR 95RATINGS BY CAMERON.

Very few people have the privilege of watching a wine region grow from nothing into a world-renowned producer. Grant Taylor, owner and winemaker of Valli Wines is one of those lucky few.

While his entrée into the world of wine began in America’s Napa Valley, it was his return home to New Zealand in 1993 that set him on the path to helping develop Central Otago and later the Waitaki wine regions.

Grant admits that when he did his first vintage in New Zealand in 1991, he had no idea that Central Otago had any vineyards. It wasn’t until he noticed six bottles of wine that had come from down south sitting in a friend’s winery lab, that he was alerted to the fact.

“I thought holy hell, they are making wine down there. I have always considered that area home and I thought next time I come back I will take a trip down there and see what is going on.”

Which is what he did a year later, meeting up with wine pioneer Alan Brady who just happened to be looking for a winemaker for his company Gibbston Valley. “It just sort of seemed like too much fun not to be involved and I was ready to come home then, having spent 16 years in the Napa.”

At the time there were 20 hectares of vines planted in Central Otago. Compare that to the 2,024 ha of vines in 2021. Grant has seen that expansion first hand and has marveled as more sub regions have come on stream, each and every one bringing something new to the world of wine. He describes that opportunity as a privilege.

“I had a French winemaker that I worked with who said he felt so sorry for us that we never had our father or grandfather to pass on knowledge and a piece of land,” Grant says. “But I felt sorry for him because he never had the joy of seeing a region grow and develop, or to see grapes and vineyards growing on land that had never had grapes before. Every year, a new site would come on stream and its been a real privilege to have seen that.”

Valli’s Bendigo Vineyard.

It didn’t take Grant long to appreciate how much impact sub regions had on the ensuing wines. While his first forays were in the Gibbston Valley, he eventually began making wine with fruit coming from the Cromwell Basin, Bannockburn and Bendigo. And while they may all be labelled as Central Otago, he says they are all individuals, with climate and geography playing big roles.

“When you look at a map you think each of these sub regions is quite close. But it’s not just a couple of kilometres between them. There is about 30 - 40 kilometres from Gibbston to Bannockburn and there is a quite serious geographical feature between the two. Then Bendigo is another 30 – 40 kilometres further away from Bannockburn.”

To say nothing of the Waitaki Valley, a wine region in its own right that Grant has played a huge role in developing. His first experience of working with grapes from Waitaki was in 2004, and instantly Grant realised that they were unlike anything coming out of Central Otago.

“It’s what attracted me to the Waitaki,” he says. “It’s not Central Otago, it’s completely different. To have seen Central Otago develop and then to be able to do that again in the Waitaki, it was like unbelievable, I get two shots at seeing a region develop.”

Establishing his own wine company in 1998, named after his great, great grandfather Giuseppe Valli, who came out from Italy in the 1860’s, Grant continued working for Gibbston Valley until 2006. For the past 15 years his winemaking skills have been centred on Valli, concentrating on single vineyard wines that emphasise the unique characteristics of the Waitaki and Central sub regions.

In the winter issue of World of Wine, five Valli wines were awarded 95 or 96 points by Cameron. (Anything above 95 is considered Classic, an outstanding wine). Of those five, three were from the Waitaki, one from Bendigo and another from Bannockburn. Four were Pinot Noirs and one was a Riesling. Grant’s determination not to mix fruit from different sub regions is certainly paying off. “That is why I started Valli, to show how different the sub regions are. It is those differences that interests me the most.”

It does make life difficult at times he admits. “When you aim to make a single vineyard wine you need to work harder. You can’t rely on being able to add the missing pieces, whether that is tannin or structure. Single vineyard wines don’t give you that option. They all have to stand on their own feet to tell a good story.”

Having had the opportunity to watch two wine regions develop, Grant would love to have the chance to see a third – south west Southland, around the township of Nightcaps.

“My mother’s father was born in Nightcaps and there are some outcroppings of limestone that face north around there. I think it could be interesting to look at in the future, but not sure if it will happen in my lifetime.”

Central Otago’s unforgiving geography is on display at Valli’s Gibbston Vineyard.

Wine May Run In The Blood

It’s possible one of New Zealand’s very first winemakers was an Italian by the name of Luigi Valli. He arrived in New Zealand in 1862, via America and Australia where he had been gold mining. He was employed by the Villa Como hotel in Alexandra to produce wine they could sell on site. When Luigi died a few years later, it was recorded that he had no living relatives in New Zealand.

That wasn’t quite true, because his brother Giuseppe Valli had arrived in New Zealand straight from Italy, also in 1862, and had no idea his brother was living within a few hundred or so kilometres. Giuseppe was Grant Taylor’s great, great grandfather, which means Luigi was a great, great uncle. Maybe the winemaking gene has been passed on, even if it did skip a few generations.