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About

Jules Taylor

Chosen as New Zealand Winemaker of the Year in 2021, Jules is a passionate advocate for Marlborough and has made some of the region’s best loved and successful wines. Born in the year the first vines were planted in Marlborough, Jules has literally grown up with Sauvignon Blanc and is deeply invested in her region and its grape growing families.

After completing a degree in Vitivulture at Lincoln University in Christchurch, Jules explored other winemaking regions around the globe, working numerous vintages in Italy and Australia.

Several life-affirming vintages in Piedmont and Sicily underscored Jules’ love of wine as a simple pleasure to be enjoyed alongside good food and great friends. Jules strongly believes wine should be more about creating great memories and less about status or cellaring potential.

On her return home, Jules worked her way to Group Senior Winemaker at once of New Zealand’s most acclaimed wineries, before starting her own label on the side in 2001 with just 200 cases. Five years, two children and many, many late nights later, George and Jules took the nail-biting decision to put everything on the line, jack in their day jobs and give their dream a shot.

Today Jules is the eponymous winemaker at Jules Taylor Wines, the Queen of Sauvignon Blanc and a godmother to several hundred thousand little grapes. Recently awarded NZ Winemaker of the Year by Australian publication Gourmet Traveler Wine, the first time this award has been given to a Marlborough winemaker, she’s a straight talker who’s also a darn nice person.

New Zealand Winemaker of the Year 2021

Born in Marlborough in the year the first vines were planted, Jules has literally grown up with Sauvignon Blanc. Deeply invested in the region and its grape growing families, she has made some of Marlborough’s best known and successful wines. Several life-affirming vintages in Piedmont and Sicily underscored Jules’ love of wine as a simple pleasure to be enjoyed alongside good food and great friends. Jules strongly believes wine should be more about creating great memories and less about status or cellaring potential.

On her return home, Jules worked her way to Group Senior Winemaker at one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed wineries, before starting her own label on the side in 2001 with just 200 cases. Five years, two children and many, many late nights later, Jules and husband George took the nail-biting decision to put everything on the line, jack in their day jobs, and give their dream a shot.

Jules Taylor, the Queen of Sauvignon Blanc and a godmother to several hundred thousand little grapes. Jules was awarded “NZ Winemaker of the Year” in 2021 by Australian publication Gourmet Traveller Wine. Chosen by a panel of experts for both her wines and her contributions to the industry, she is the first Marlborough winemaker to receive this award.

Sustainability in Wine

Jules cares about doing things right and every year they celebrate the steps their little business takes to minimise their impact on the environment.In addition to these highlights they also continued their wetland redevelopment and native plantings, and celebrated further environmental improvements at their winery and bottling facilities. Continuing to enjoy solar powered and carbon neutral energy, and to reduce their water use requirements.

The team are big advocates for sustainable winegrowing, certified by the NZ Sustainable Winegrowers scheme they monitor and minimise water, energy and chemical use. Alongside this, in 2023 they continued their redevelopment of the wetland area on their home vineyard to increase native biodiversity and provide habitat for local species of birds and insects.

Carbon zero bottling, extra lightweight glass and continuing to work on their winemaking efficiencies they are set in their ways, that is doing things the right way not the easy way.

Marlborough Sauvignon

Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc

Grassy, summery, bright honesty with a hint of spill the beans.

Introducing Jules Taylor signature dish, when Jules talks about Sauvignon Blanc, clouds part and celestial choirs sing. This is the wine Jules loves because it is so expressive of the site where it’s grown. It’s a grape that, within a row - and even within a bunch - has a mind-blowing range of full-throttle flavour, just the way Jules likes it.

Awards
92 Points - Bob Campbell, Master of Wine

“Ripe yet tangy sauvignon with passionfruit, guava, lime zest, gooseberry and red capsicum flavours. Reasonably concentrated, vibrant wine with punchy varietal characters. Impressive wine with purity and power”

New Zealand Wine

Marlborough

Jules Taylor shows extensive experience when it comes to Marlborough’s various vineyard flavour characters. With a deep attachment to her home region, along with strong personal connections to the grape growing families of Marlborough allowed Jules to source hidden pockets of outstanding fruit.

She doesn’t pick from the central Wairau Valley (where the majority of Marlborough wineries source their grapes), which means her ‘Sauvignon’ is bursting with flavours of tropical fruits and citrus rather than capsicum and gooseberries.

Interested in more about the 2024 Harvest for Jules Taylor Wines? Read their 2024 Harvest report here.

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