Cloudy Bay

In 1983 David Hohnen, an Australian winemaker at Cape Mentelle in Margaret River, tasted his first Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Hohnen had founded Cape Mentelle in 1970. Backed by his Cape Mentelle partners, his brother Mark and business partner Simon Fraser, he bought land on Jacksons Road, built a winery and hired a young Australian winemaker, Kevin Judd, to oversee production; Hohnen and Judd launched Cloudy Bay in 1985. The first vintage, in 1985, was made with 40 tonnes of purchased fruit trucked to Selaks' Gisborne winery, where Judd was working, and it reached the market in March 1986. Oz Clarke wrote in his book Red & White that the first vintage “forever changed our view of what white wine could and should taste like.” Within a decade, it made Wine Spectator's top 10 wines of the year. Veuve Clicquot bought a majority stake in Cloudy Bay and Cape Mentelle in the early 1990s, and the LVMH group had full ownership by 2003, when the Hohnens exited the business. In 2003 Hohnen also resigned as CEO of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin's table wine subsidiaries, which included Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle and Mountadam Vineyards. Judd left in the years after the sale to LVMH and set up his own Marlborough operation, Greywacke, in 2009. Today Cloudy Bay is part of Moët Hennessy, the Wines & Spirits division of LVMH.

• 1985: Cloudy Bay established; first vintage made at Selaks' Gisborne winery
• Early 1990s: Veuve Clicquot buys a majority stake in Cloudy Bay and Cape Mentelle
• 2003: LVMH full ownership; Hohnen leaves the business
• 2009: Cloudy Bay begins to explore Central Otago; Kevin Judd sets up Greywacke the same year
• 2014: purchase of the Northburn vineyard and lease of the Calvert vineyard in Central Otago
• 2025: 40th anniversary, marked with a three-day event for 40 international guests

Cloudy Bay's team is led by Estate Director Yang Shen, who arrived at the helm of Cloudy Bay in 2016. Nikolai St George joined in 2020 as Senior Winemaker and became Winemaking Director in 2023. Kelly Stuart joined as a cellar hand in 2016, became Assistant Winemaker two years later and Winemaker in 2023. Daniel Sorrell, who joined in 2015, is Operations Winemaker, overseeing the laboratory and the day-to-day organisation of the cellar team. Violeta Santis joined as a cellar hand at the beginning of 2019 and became Assistant Winemaker in 2023. Jim White joined Cloudy Bay in 2011 as Viticulturist, became Technical Director in 2018 and is now Technical & Sustainable Development Senior Director. John Flanagan began in 2016 as Vineyard Operations Manager, took over from White as Viticulturist within two years and was promoted to Viticulture Director in 2023. Hannah Ternent joined as Technical Viticulturist in November 2022.

• Yang Shen: Estate Director (at Cloudy Bay since 2016)
• Nikolai St George: Winemaking Director (since 2023; joined 2020)
• Kelly Stuart: Winemaker (since 2023; joined 2016)
• Daniel Sorrell: Operations Winemaker (joined 2015)
• Violeta Santis: Assistant Winemaker (since 2023; joined 2019)
• Jim White: Technical & Sustainable Development Senior Director (joined 2011)
• John Flanagan: Viticulture Director (since 2023; joined 2016)
• Hannah Ternent: Technical Viticulturist (since November 2022)

In Marlborough, Cloudy Bay farms 163 parcels of vines and works with 65 grower blocks. Its Sauvignon Blanc vineyards sit across three sub-regions in the heart of the Wairau Valley: Rapaura, Renwick and Brancott Valley, and almost all of those vines grow in the coarse, free-draining gravelly soils of the old river valley. Key Sauvignon Blanc blocks include the Estate, Motukawa, Widow's Block, Red Shed and Mustang vineyards; the Widow's Block takes its name as a tribute to Madame Clicquot. South of the Wairau Valley, the clay soils of the Southern Valleys (Brancott, Omaka and Waihopai) are home to three Cloudy Bay vineyards, Barracks, Mustang and Delta, which are the key Pinot Noir blocks. Chardonnay comes from both the stony soils of the Wairau Valley and the dense clay of the Southern Valleys, with Barracks, Motukawa, Estate, Mustang and Brook Street as key vineyards. In Central Otago, Northburn sits on the steep east bank of Lake Dunstan, with terraces of rocky glacial soils, and is planted with 100% Pinot Noir. Calvert, on Felton Road in Bannockburn, sits on the silty, loamy soils of an ancient lake bed. Te Wāhi Pinot Noir blends grapes from the two sites.

• Marlborough: 163 parcels of vines and 65 grower blocks
• Sauvignon Blanc: Rapaura, Renwick and Brancott Valley in the Wairau Valley; key blocks Estate, Motukawa, Widow's Block, Red Shed and Mustang
• Pinot Noir: Barracks, Mustang and Delta vineyards on Southern Valleys clay
• Chardonnay: Barracks, Motukawa, Estate, Mustang and Brook Street
• Central Otago: Northburn (Lake Dunstan, rocky glacial soils, 100% Pinot Noir) and Calvert (Felton Road, Bannockburn, silty loam)

Cloudy Bay is a founding member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. Its Central Otago vineyards are farmed organically: Calvert is certified organic, Northburn began its organic conversion in 2020, and the winery's certifications page lists BioGro certification for both the Calvert and Northburn vineyards. In Marlborough, selected Estate blocks are trialling organic practices. The winery also lists ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications. Recent sustainability work includes a winery rooftop solar system and a carbon-reducing autonomous tractor. Cloudy Bay puts its vineyard yields at around 30% lower than the regional average.

• Founding member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand
• Central Otago: farmed organically; BioGro certification listed for Calvert and Northburn
• Marlborough: selected Estate blocks trialling organic practices
• ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications
• Winery rooftop solar system and an autonomous tractor

The range covers Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Te Koko, Pinot Noir, Te Wāhi, Pelorus and Pelorus Rosé. For the Sauvignon Blanc, fruit from each vineyard ferments separately before blending, and the winemakers select from over 90 batches each year. Te Koko is a Sauvignon Blanc made with wild yeasts, oak barrels and grapes from the estate's heritage vines; it ferments in French oak barrels with indigenous yeasts over four to five months, then rests in barrel on fine lees for 15 months. It is made only in the best vintages, and the first release, of the 1996 vintage, came in 2000. For the 2023 Chardonnay, the juice went into French oak barriques (20% new) and new 6-kilolitre cuves, rested 11 months before blending, and went through full malolactic fermentation. The Marlborough Pinot Noir is de-stemmed into open-top fermenters with wild yeast, with some whole bunches included, and matured in French oak for 11 months; its first release came in 1994. Te Wāhi, whose name means 'the place' in te reo Māori, is mostly de-stemmed into open-top tanks with some whole-bunch fermentation, goes through extended maceration and spontaneous malolactic fermentation, and spends a year or more in French oak; its first release, of the 2014 vintage, came in 2016. Pelorus and Pelorus Rosé are made by the méthode traditionnelle from whole-bunch-pressed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, fermented in stainless steel with malolactic conversion and aged en tirage for a minimum of 24 months; Pelorus was first released in 1992.

• Sauvignon Blanc: vineyard lots fermented separately; selection from over 90 batches
• Te Koko: wild-yeast Sauvignon Blanc fermented in French oak, then 15 months on fine lees; first release 2000 (1996 vintage)
• Chardonnay (2023): barriques (20% new) and new 6-kilolitre cuves, 11 months, full malolactic
• Pinot Noir: wild yeast, some whole bunches, 11 months in French oak; first release 1994
• Te Wāhi: Central Otago Pinot Noir, a year or more in French oak; first release 2016 (2014 vintage)
• Pelorus and Pelorus Rosé: méthode traditionnelle, minimum 24 months en tirage; Pelorus first released 1992

Cloudy Bay describes its Sauvignon Blanc as pure, vibrant and full of concentrated stone fruit, citrus and subtle tropical characters, and calls this its benchmark style. Jim White set out the winery's approach in 2019: “We don’t want our winemaking techniques to be louder than the voice of the vineyard.” Te Koko's winemaking has been refined over time with concrete tulip tanks, foudres and shorter ferments.

• Sauvignon Blanc: stone fruit, citrus and subtle tropical characters in the winery's own description
• Winemaking aimed at expressing the vineyard rather than technique
• Te Koko refined with concrete tulip tanks, foudres and shorter ferments

In Marlborough, Cloudy Bay's winery, Cellar Door and Saku restaurant are surrounded by the Richmond Ranges, which inspired the Cloudy Bay label. Saku serves Japanese cuisine alongside Cloudy Bay wines. Cloudy Bay's Marlborough contact address is 230 Jacksons Road, Blenheim. In Central Otago, Cloudy Bay has a lakefront Cellar Door and The Shed restaurant, and the full Cloudy Bay portfolio is available for tasting at the Cellar Door. Its Central Otago contact address is 45 Northburn Station Road.

• Marlborough: winery, Cellar Door and Saku restaurant
• Central Otago: lakefront Cellar Door and The Shed restaurant
• Contact addresses: 230 Jacksons Road, Blenheim (Marlborough); 45 Northburn Station Road (Central Otago)

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/about-us/, https://www.cloudybay.com/page-data/en-ww/about-us/page-data.json (team biographies on the About us page), https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/certifications/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/marlborough/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/central-otago/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/visit-us/marlborough/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/visit-us/central-otago/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/contact/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/sauvignon-blanc/sauvignon-blanc-2025/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/chardonnay/chardonnay-2023/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/pinot-noir/pinot-noir-2023/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/te-koko/te-koko-2023/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/te-wahi/te-wahi-2022/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/pelorus/pelorus/, https://www.cloudybay.com/en-ww/our-wines/pelorus-rose/pelorus-rose/. Owner group site: https://www.lvmh.com/en/our-maisons/wines-spirits/cloudy-bay. Secondary sources: Decanter (Emma Jenkins MW, 14 June 2025), https://www.decanter.com/premium/cloudy-bay-at-40-raising-a-glass-to-a-game-changer-558089/; Wine Spectator (30 July 2003), https://www.winespectator.com/articles/founder-of-cloudy-bay-and-cape-mentelle-steps-down-21706; The Drinks Business (Richard Woodard, 3 June 2025), https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/06/tall-poppies-and-the-peter-principle-cloudy-bay-goes-global/. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.