cloudy bay

Cloudy Bay's one of the bigger wineries around, but that doesn't mean their wines have become too mass market for more sophisticated palates. I do think paying 20 bucks for the premium tasting (regular tasting is $5) is a bit steep though, especially after having gotten used to free tastings in nearby Australia over the years. Nevertheless, still worth a visit - wine's are decent, staff is friendly and, on a good day, the outside area's lovely.

Visited here in March to sample the Chardonnay and anything unusual you don't come across from Cloudy Bay normally. Sine my last visit they have started charging for tastings and had only their Sav Blanc & Pinot Noir on the $5 tasting. The next tasting up was $20. So we had a look around and left. They have a nice sitting out area and do food.

Being benevolently undisposed to any prejudice that maybe there's a bit of resting on laurels here; no in fact CB is just another welcoming winery visit in the great Malborough region; a sweet shop for any wine enthusiast. CB's wines are up there and I disagree with some curmudgeonly reviews about the price of tastings - for the top level tasting of their best or vintage releases shared between two ( the pours are more than generous) is a Fiver - so come on. Indeed we found more exciting wines - Framingham and Giesen to name two - but a visit to CB must be a must-do for a day in Marlborough.

We arrived in Blenheim determined to sample Cloudy Bay wines as they are so widely known and revered internationally. We took our Italian guest to sample the offerings in their courtyard garden setting. The weather was perfect, the atmoshere was perfect and so were the wines.

Having consumed so much Cloudy Bay wine over the years we had to visit while staying in the area. The winery is located just out of Blenheim in the Marlborough wine area of New Zealand. Stunning place with good staff, wonderful wines, a great tasting experience, excellent simple food on offer (think freshly shucked oysters, burrata with fresh tomatoes and smoked salmon) to enjoy with your tasting experience. Don't be put off by the cost of the tastings as the serves are a good size (not the usual dribble) and you have a wonderful setting looking out over the lawns and gardens toenjoy them in. Go for a tasting and plan to enjoy their good as well - loved it.

Very excited to visit this winery en route to Nelson for a holiday. Four of us navigated our way through a tasting selection whilst trying some seafood expertly prepared by Jackson. The raw oysters and clams accompanied by 2 sauces were perfect with the wines. The setting would have been conducive to a longer visit had it not been for the long trip ahead. Jackson gave us lots of information about the winery and we came away satisfied and pleased that we had made this one of our pit stops.

Dropped by with family to enjoy the wine selection from the vineyard's $10 taster menu, all delightful wines. Enjoyed sitting outside in full view of the vineyard, while Jackson from the vineyard's Jack's fresh food bar, who gave top service with fresh oyster and mussel selection to enjoy with our wine. Even got a peek at the vineyard's dog portfolio photo album. Lovely time with friendly and knowledgeable staff as we enjoyed tasty delights from the vine.

Wine and food were expensive but the setting was delightful.My rich friends felt the value was ok. Service from the staff was outstanding with terrific patience and help.

Having sampled their wines in the UK my wife and daughter were keen to do some wine tasting at this vineyard. It has a lovely setting and as well as enjoying a number of wines we also had a very tasty ‘al fresco’ lunch there making for an altogether pleasant experience on a warm, sunny day.

The vineyard was en route from Kaikoura to Motueka and I love their wine, especially the pinot noir, which is very difficult and expensive to get in Singapore. Had honestly expected to just stop by and pick up some wine. But it was such a beautiful day, with a blue sky that we just had to stop for a while. Felt a bit sorry from time to time for some of the people trying to relax when our kids let rip in the garden but it is a great open space for kids and they loved the swinging chairs. We on the other hands loved the Burrata and tomatoes, oysters and clams, with a glass of 2006 pinot noir. I did go and buy a couple of boxes of wine and I have to say that the staff (who were all ladies)working there could have been a little bit more friendly and attentive, for some reason they are somewhat standoff-ish. The two guys working in the raw bar however were friendly and attentive. Nevertheless it didn't spoil the overall experience and the vineyard is very beautiful.

Cloudy Bay has been a family favorite for many years. Now we had a chance to visit the winery itself and boy, what an experience! We were the first guests to arrive and were greeted by Miriam, the staff. The tasting is for symbolic value, there are three options to choose from: 5, 10, 20 NZD offering different wines and/or vintages. Even though it said that we would get to taste 5 wines, we ended up tasting 10.And the location and setting! It was gorgeous. Yes, CB is a premium brand and needs a higher level service, but what we received was times better than in any other wine yard during our stay. Highly recommended!

I really like Cloudy Bay wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and also their Pelorus Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine) so I make sure to stop there to buy some wine for the time I am in NZ. It is a bit impractical to take the bottles back to Europe. Also it is always interesting to see what else they have for sale in addition to the wines themselves (wine cooler, postcards, somelier aprons, ...). The staff is friendly but they were very busy on our last visit there. Too many people coming in and the tasting was interfering with the buying process. This could be organised a bit better. Also what they had on offer didn't differ much from what I could get at the local supermarkets. I would've hoped they would have different vintages there. But still you save a bit buying directly so it is worth stopping.

Cloudy Bay is probably one of NZ's best known exports, so it's not surprising that they have a very brand-appropriate cellar door. The tasting room is beautiful, the staff approachable and knowledgable, and just behind the window is all that lovely barrel-aging on view. Unlike many NZ cellar door experiences, there is a tasting fee - so if you're doing that, I'd definitely recommend doing the $20 premium experience where there's aged and harder to find Cloudy Bay wines offered. If you can linger, The Raw Bar outside offers simple, classy plates to showcase the wine. On holidays and weekends, the area absolutely hums with visitors so reservations would be recommended. I do understand why so many internationals visit Cloudy Bay and it's definitely worth it, but if you can, make sure you visit another to get the local, handcrafted and Kiwi experience as well. Not better - just different!

If you are lucky enough to be travelling through the Blenheim area, don't miss this! It's a superb set-up, and surprisingly family friendly. Apart from the delicious wine and food on offer, there's a gorgeous outdoor area with an array of stylish furniture and soft green lawns surrounded by shady trees, some with swinging chairs overlooking a blissful vineyard vista. There's even a bocci pit for a little laid-back competition while sampling world-class wines. We could have stayed for days…

We were driving so popped in to find out more about our favourite wine, but didn't do the tasting. However it was useful to understand more about the wine and the different years and also the variety of wines. Didn't know that they say not to keep it more than 3 years for example (not that it lasts that long). It was much cheaper than the UK and we got a special sealed bottle wrap so we could take some bottles back with us. The outside grounds were great, but still a little chilly so there were no outside snacks open. Nice visit, a little corporate but interesting all the same