GREYWACKE

Kevin Judd is a pretty good photographer for a winemaker. Or is it the other way around? Let’s just say that he is a major talent in more than one field, with both his wines and his photographs firmly positioned at the top of the quality arc (at Glengarry we have a collection of his varietal images on the walls of our Victoria Park Wine Room). The founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, where he directed the first 25 vintages, Kevin established his own label in 2009, naming it for the ubiquitous grey stone found throughout New Zealand. While the rock they’re named for may initially seem a little monochromatic, the same cannot be said of Kevin’s wines, overflowing as they do with character and finesse.

Prime viticultural sites within the central Wairau Plains and the Southern Valleys provide the fruit, which is then vinified by Kevin at Dog Point Winery in the lower Brancott Valley. The high-quality Greywacke portfolio is primarily based on two varieties, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, along with limited edition releases of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer.

And the exquisite vineyard photographs on the labels? No prize for guessing where they came from.

Kevin Judd is one of Marlborough’s pioneer winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked with the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin was born in England and grew up in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine at Reynella in South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. Subsequently, he became the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the company’s first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label, Greywacke, named after New Zealand’s prolific bedrock. Alongside winemaking, Kevin has developed a parallel career in photography. For over two decades his evocative images have appeared in countless publications worldwide. His first book was the The Colour of Wine, a photographic essay on the vineyards of Marlborough. His second book The Landscape of New Zealand Wine was published in 2009 to considerable acclaim