At the source
Learning the craft
Before founding Sturgeon Valley, Nicholas and Xinyue spent more than a year alongside industry experts, studying selection, salting and controlled ageing, and returning for practical training with senior caviar technicians.
Now able to do everything in-house and conduct all processing at their Rotorua-based facility in New Zealand, they have complete control over caviar grading and maturation without any limitations.
Culinary perspective
We value the way New Zealand cooks: ingredient-led, seasonal, and focused. Our role is to deliver caviar with clarity of flavour and steady texture so chefs and home diners can use it thoughtfully, from a single bump to a composed canapé or tasting.
Quality & Processing
Great caviar is made in the margins through careful selection, controlled ageing and precise grading by taste and feel. Every batch is finished for balance and depth.
Sustainable sourcing
Our Kaluga-Huso roe comes from a land-based aquafarm in China that runs recirculating water systems with high-efficiency filtration and rooftop solar. The farm partners with universities and research groups on sturgeon aquaculture. The aim is controlled farming with full traceability, not pressure on wild stocks.
Grading and maturation
Each batch is graded for size and appearance, then lightly seasoned with fine salt (malossol). The roe is matured for a minimum of 30 days at precisely controlled low temperatures, with scheduled tastings throughout. Over this period the salt integrates, the flavour develops and the texture settles.
Once the maturation window is reached, we complete a final grading by taste and feel, confirming texture, salinity and aroma before hand-packing into vacuum-sealed tins, ready to enjoy.
Finished with care
Finishing is deliberate and gentle to protect the integrity of each pearl. Only well-formed eggs make it to the tin. We seal in food-grade caviar tins made in France, then hand-label and box locally using New Zealand-made packaging, with all packing completed in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Every release is logged by batch so chefs and home customers know what to expect, tin to tin. We adjust finishing to suit each batch’s natural grain structure.
