An extended family at Greywacke

"They're not always the most positive," he admits, recalling his brother hitting him when Kevin Judd hollered at them to stop shaking the car.

But growing up in Cloudy Bay's iconic vineyard, with his winemaker father intrinsically linked to the brand, undoubtedly shaped his understanding of winegrowing, Alex says from Greywacke, the label forged by his parents in 2009.

Alex spent nine years in Wellington after leaving school in Blenheim in 2011, becoming a barista, studying for his WSET, thriving as a Noble Rot sommelier, then marketing for a small wine company.

Three years ago, he began to yearn for a life out of the city and talked to his parents about opportunities in the family business. Now he's studying for a bachelor's degree in winemaking and viticulture, tackling his third vintage, and preparing for a second 2022 vintage in Italy.

Kevin says he and Kimberley never pushed their kids to be part of the business, and their other son, "has almost no interest at all in winemaking". But growing up on Matthews Lane certainly gave them unique insights. "Both of the kids were at the winery a lot, hanging around, looking at things. Smelling things. You can't get much more entrenched in the scene than that, can you?"

In contrast, Kevin was green when he attended Roseworthy College straight out of school, unlike most of his peers, who'd worked in the industry or were from winemaking families. He'd moved from England to suburban Adelaide aged nine and was attracted to wine by his talent with science and desire to work outside. After three years at Château Reynella in McLaren Vale, the 23-year-old cast around for opportunities to be head winemaker and, finding none in Australia, moved to New Zealand with Kimberley.

Three years later, in 1984, they were about to leave again, "when David Hohren walked into the scene", says Kevin. Both men were intrigued by the possibilities of Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough, and Cloudy Bay was born. For a long time, the company was like a big family, says Kevin. "We were all mates and we all used to drink far too much together, and everyone knew everyone's deep dark secrets."

Twenty-five years later, when Cloudy Bay was bought by the Moët-Hennessy group and Kevin created Greywacke, a handful of that "extended family" moved with him. The ethos of the family business is about more than the Judds, says Alex. "At the end of the day we are a team. We want the best for each other and for our whole family. It's not just mum and dad and myself... It's everyone who works with us."

There are challenges in being a small family-run business, including a lack of "financial grunt", says Kevin. But it's definitely doable, "as long as you are making really good wine and you have a point of differene, and you are not aspiring to take over the planet with volumes".

Meanwhile, a family-owned business means you can "focus on what you deeply believe in and not be chasing the ultimate profit for shareholders", he says. "David Hohnen used to say that profit should be reward of a job well done, not the things you chase. I love that concept."

Everyone at Greywacke has their idiosyncrasies but seem to get on regardless, he adds. "I think Alex is a pretty straight shooter; I hate bullshit and airy-fairy crap."

It seems to work, agrees Alex. "Obviously we don't see eye to eye all the time." But his father "wouldn't dare" take him on a photography jaunt. "I have my own car, thankfully, these days."