Valli opens Waitaki wine bar

Award-winning winery Valli has opened a wine bar in New Zealand’s newest wine region, Waitaki.

Valli owners Grant Taylor and Nicole Schofield have been growing grapes and making wine in Gibbston, Bannockburn, Bendigo and Waitaki for 25 years, but Valli Wine Bar in Kurow is their first public face.

Valli Wine Bar has opened in the town’s restored former Post Office. “We wanted to create somewhere people can celebrate special occasions, where they can relax after a long day on the cycle trail or catch up on the latest town news,” says Nicole Schofield.

Nicole Schofield and Grant Taylor

“Waitaki is New Zealand’s newest wine region – with the first commercial vintage in 2004. Its limestone soils lend incredibly unique characteristics to the wines. The wine bar will serve Valli Wines from our Waitaki vineyard, so people can really see what this incredible region can do,” she says.

Valli produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling wines from the grapes grown on its Waitaki vineyard.

Tourism Waitaki Consumer and Trade Marketing Manager Krissy Griggs agrees, and says the Waitaki wine industry is already working together. “Waitaki is a small winemaking region, where growers focus on carefully selected, small quantities that deliver ethereal, aromatic wines. By showcasing what this region can do, all Waitaki winegrowers will benefit from Valli Wine Bar.”