1985

CLOUDY BAY VINEYARDS ESTABLISHED

Cloudy Bay Vineyards was established with the release of their first vintage of Sauvignon Blanc.

The winery was named after Cloudy Bay, a body of water explorer Captain James Cook came across during his voyage to New Zealand in 1770. His discovery coincided with flooding in the region, which washed large amounts of sediment into the sea. Noticing the water’s opaque appearance, Cook cleverly christened the area Cloudy Bay.

At the time, it was almost an unimaginable place to set-up a vineyard in Marlborough. But Cloudy Bay’s founder - David Hohnen - was convinced of its potential to produce great wine and invested in the best land of the region. Since then, Marlborough has risen to become New Zealand’s leading wine region, as well as one of the finest winemaking locations in the world.

1987

PELORUS, CLOUDY BAY’S SPARKLING WINE,
ENJOYS ITS FIRST HARVEST

The Cloudy Bay sparkling wine range, Pelorus, is named after the famous Risso dolphin of Marlborough known as Pelorus Jack. From 1888 to 1912, Pelorus Jack was often seen playfully riding the bow waves as he helped ships navigate safely through the treacherous waters of Cook Strait.

2000

FIRST RELEASE OF TE KOKO

The Cloudy Bay winemaking team first began experimenting with indigenous yeast fermentation in 1991. In 1992 a few barrels of Sauvignon Blanc were set aside for trial and resulted in a wine with well-rounded pungency. Te Koko instinctively challenges the safe and conventional and continues to surprise the winemaking world.

2016

2016 TE WAHI Released

The Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir program was initiated in the early 1990s with the goal of making the most expressive Pinot Noir wines from New Zealand. In exploring the greater landscape of New Zealand Pinot Noir, we continue to hone our skills as viticulturists and winemakers.
“Te Wahi” is a Maori saying meaning “the place”. We believe that a great Pinot Noir speaks of its origin, and “Te Wahi” is our encapsulation of the extremely southerly and continental terroir that is Central Otago.