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Cloudy Bay redefines the cellar door experience

SOPHIE PREECE

WHEN NICKY Hewett started work at the Cloudy Bay cellar door 10 years ago, tastings were free and the queue could be three to four people deep on a busy day. There were no food options, staff were harried in the busy summer season, and visitors left with little impression of the brand and its stories.

The experience these days couldn’t be more different, with tiered tastings charged at different price points, including library and rare wines at the top end. Jack’s Raw Bar tempts many to linger at the edge of the lawn over summer months, supping on wine and slurping down oysters in the shade of Cloudy Bay’s iconic gum trees. Others dangle in egg chairs hanging from those trees, and soak up the view to the Richmond Range, reflected on Cloudy Bay’s label.

“We are giving people more options,” says Nicky, customer experience manager at the Cloudy Bay cellar door, which won Wine Marlborough Cellar Door of the Year last month. “It regulates the flow a little bit, and you definitely get more people who are seriously interested in tasting Cloudy Bay wine.”

Offering a range of different tastings was part of ensuring a better experience for customers, many of whom are on their “pilgrimage” to Cloudy Bay, says Nicky. “We also wanted to staff our cellar door well, with well-trained and professional staff, who understand the wines and stories of Cloudy Bay and also Marlborough.”

Nicky Hewett and Joyce Tang

Joyce Tang at the Cloudy Bay cellar door

Cloudy Bay didn’t stop at the counter, but instead pushed their “cellar door experience” to the vineyard, the winery, The Shack (Cloudy Bay’s stylish accommodation), and the Marlborough Sounds. Personalised vineyard tours roll out in a refurbished 1985 Land Rover, named Dave the Defender after David Hohnen, who founded Cloudy Bay that year.

There are tailored tastings with a “Cloudy Bay ambassador”, “epicurean experiences”, with wine pairings, a private chef and wait staff. There are helicopter tours, “Forage” explorations of the region, including a private launch cruise, and the chance to sail through the Marlborough Sounds on a beautiful yacht, a glass of wine in hand.

The menu of extraordinary experiences makes the Cloudy Bay experience a “trade ready” tourism offering, says Nicky. “We have commissionable product, we are part of the Marlborough Trade Marketing Team, and we are starting to take our tourism product internationally.” In return, visitor are even more determined to visit, she says, talking of people who fly to Marlborough for the day just to visit Cloudy Bay.

Cellar door manager Joyce Tang says the cellar door is “unique” in its history and its offering, but it does far “We have to work together to make Marlborough shine.”

more than tell its own stories. The staff all promote the wider Marlborough brand, and give tips on other great spots to visit, including cellar doors, she says. “We have to work together to make Marlborough shine.” Making guests feel at home is key to the experience, and they have cellar door staff who speak French, Dutch, German and Mandarin Chinese, says Joyce. This summer she has created a Mandarin Chinese tasting menu, “and we are working on more and more things like that”.

Nicky says in the past, cellar doors “were a little bit under the radar” when it came to the business of wine, and not recognised for the impact they had on the brand. However, there’s now recognition that people come with an expectation and a love of Cloudy Bay. “Some people are quite emotional when they come in. They want to share their Cloudy Bay stories and learn more about our wines and history,” she says. “We want to make sure every single customer becomes a brand ambassador, for our wine and the region.”

Winepress December 2019 / 11

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Generation Y-ine

Cellar door champion Blair Macdonald

KAT DUGGAN

BLADEN WINES’ Blair Macdonald had barely returned home when he was named joint winner in the 2019 Marlborough Cellar Door Personality of the Year. He grew up with the family-owned business and spent many years working within it, before heading away from the region for more than a decade. “My first day of internship was while I was still wearing a pair of nappies; I’ve been bud rubbing and pruning since day dot - that was my holidays for a long time.”

When he finished school, Blair was encouraged to spread his wings, and left Marlborough for Dunedin, where he spent four years working in a student pub, then seven years working in a Wellington recording studio. “Mum and dad have never tied me into being here,however if I wanted to come home I was more than welcome,” he says.

That time came in January this year, and Blair has spent the past 11 months learning the ropes of the family business. Alongside studying viticulture and winemaking, Blair spends time between the vineyard, cellar door and helping the odd day at the winery. Claiming the title of Marlborough Cellar Door Personality of the Year, which is sponsored by NZWineHome, took Blair by surprise after such a short time back home. “I’m absolutely humbled. They named me as one of 15 nominees and I thought ‘there’s not a chance’, but I was stoked to be nominated. To have my name called out was a shock; I’m really happy, and mum and dad were over the moon,” he says.

“My first day of internship was while I was still wearing a pair of nappies.”

During his time away, Blair returned to Marlborough each year for vintage, working at both Whitehaven and Cloudy Bay. His passion for wine is something innate, sparked by a lifetime in and around the industry. “I have been around wine since I was knee high, it’s always been there and there’s always been an appreciation for good wine in the family, chatting about it and enjoying it.”

Blair particularly loves being a part of the experience that wine offers consumers. “We are producing something that we are all really passionate about. I love that a bottle of wine can be a catalyst to create memories, whether it’s watching the sun go down, enjoying a meal or just enjoying time with friends. I love that we are producing something really beautiful to fit with that.” There’s no need to break wine down in order to enjoy it, he says. “I think it’s more the scenario that you’re drinking it in, with friends, family and food; that’s my take on enjoying wine.”

Blair’s parents, Chris and Dave Macdonald, settled in Marlborough in 1989, where they first established the vineyard, followed by their wine label Bladen, named after Blair and his younger sister Deni. Deni also left Marlborough following school and is working as a freelance photographer in the United Arab Emirates. “We are all really proud of her - that girl got a lot of mum and dad’s drive. We’ve both absorbed their passion but her drive impresses me.” Blair says.

He believes Deni will also one day return to the family business. “Mum and Dad realise this was their dream, rather than ours, and they encourage us to follow our dreams. I’m really grateful for that,” Blair says. “Coming home, it felt like I had ticked off one of my dreams, I would have regretted not pursuing the recording industry. It felt like an accomplishment. However, I was ready to come home and it feels like everything has fallen into place. I love it and can’t wait for Deni to come back and join us.”

Meet Nina Huria-Bryce, the joint winner of the Marlborough Cellar Door Personality of the Year, in the January edition of Winepress

30 / Winepress December 2019