Date
30.09.2026Categories
The story of a winery from New Zealand
At Trasti & Trine, we are surrounded by nature every single day. So it perhaps comes as no surprise that we are also fascinated by places where nature plays a decisive role in what ends up on the table.
On New Zealand’s South Island lies Marlborough, now one of the world’s most famous wine regions. But in the early 1980s, the story was very different.
When Australian winemaker David Hohnen tasted Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough for the first time in 1983, he discovered something truly special. It was the combination of intense fruit, freshness, and the cool climate that gave the grapes an expression he had not encountered in quite the same way before.
He saw potential in an area that was still little known outside New Zealand.
Two years later, in 1985, he took the leap and founded Cloudy Bay, one of the first wineries in Marlborough.
What began as an idea of what might be possible in this young wine region would eventually become an important part of the story of how New Zealand found its place on the international wine map.
A name with a long history
The name Cloudy Bay actually goes back further than the winery itself.
When Captain James Cook sailed along New Zealand’s coast in 1770, he encountered murky water in the bay and gave the area the name Cloudy Bay. More than 200 years later, the same name would become known among wine lovers all over the world.
The wine that put Marlborough on the map
The first vintage of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc quickly attracted international attention.
In the 1980s, New Zealand was still a small and relatively unknown wine country. The wines from Marlborough helped change that. The distinctive Sauvignon Blanc style, with its aromatic fruit and vibrant freshness, quickly found an international audience.
Marlborough’s climate plays an important role. Long, sunny days and cool nights give the grapes a long ripening period and the chance to develop intense aromatic character while preserving their natural freshness.
From Marlborough to Central Otago
But the story is about much more than Sauvignon Blanc.
Over the years, Cloudy Bay has explored several grape varieties and parts of New Zealand. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir show other sides of the cool climate, while Te Koko explores Sauvignon Blanc through, among other things, wild fermentation and barrel aging.
Further south, we find Central Otago, an area with a completely different climate and landscape. From here comes Te Wāhi Pinot Noir, where the continental climate, large temperature differences, and distinctive vineyards give a different expression from what is found in Marlborough.
It is these contrasts that make New Zealand such an exciting wine country.
The people behind it
Behind the wines are, of course, the people as well.
Kelly Stuart is now Winemaker at Cloudy Bay. Her path into the world of wine surprisingly began with architecture. She eventually chose to change direction and earned a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University in New Zealand.
From there came experience from several of the world’s wine regions, including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and California.
In 2016, she joined Cloudy Bay as a cellar hand. Two years later, she became Assistant Winemaker, before taking the next step into the role of Winemaker in 2023.
Along the way, she also gained experience from Champagne, Burgundy, and the Loire. This combination of experience from different wine regions is part of the knowledge she brings back to Marlborough.
This is something we at Trasti & Trine can relate to very well. Here in Alta, we are also concerned with how the place we are in affects what we make and serve. We may not have vineyards outside our walls, but we have our own landscape, our own climate, and our own ingredients, and a strong belief that the best stories begin with the place they come from.
From Marlborough to Alta, there are many miles and a completely different climate. Yet the mindset is surprisingly similar: let nature be part of the story.
