Cloudy Bay Vineyards

Cloudy Bay Vineyards is a winery in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. The winery is primarily noted for its Sauvignon Blanc wines, and have played an important pioneering role in establishing New Zealand's and Marlborough's reputation. Cloudy Bay's first commercial vintage was produced in 1985 from purchased grapes, and the company later planted its own vineyards. It was one of the first New Zealand wines to be widely exported and came to attention because its fruit-forward style and very pronounced varietal character. The classic French Sauvignon Blancs from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé from the Loire Valley were typically more restrained and austere in comparison, and with higher acid levels.

Cloudy Bay winery was established in 1985 by David Hohnen, the founder of Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle. Cloudy Bay’s 140 hectares (350 acres) of vineyards are located at three sites in the winegrowing region of Marlborough, including areas close to the bay for which they are named. The region is noted for its production of Sauvignon Blanc wines. The vines are planted on deep alluvial gravels. Five long-term contract growers also work closely with Cloudy Bay.

Cloudy Bay produces Chardonnay and Pinot noir wines, but the Sauvignon Blanc remains its standard-bearer.

In 2003 Cloudy Bay Vineyards was bought by the multinational luxury goods firm LVMH (Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy) through its champagne house Veuve Clicquot, and exports to 20 countries around the world, with the largest markets being Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Europe and Japan. Since the LVMH takeover production has increased to over 100,000 cases of the Sauvignon Blanc in 2009. This expansion has coincided with writers such as Victoria Moore criticising the former benchmark wine for becoming "diluted" and "anonymous". The ­viticulturist is Siobhan ­Harnett; the founding winemaker Kevin Judd left in 2009 after 25 vintages to set up a new winery, Greywacke.