This wine is made from five vineyards in Marlborough's Awatere, Wairau and Southern Valley sub-regions. All grapes were hand harvested and de-stemmed with a cold soak for five to six days prior to fermentation in small vats with added yeasts. Hand plunging (pigeage) took place three to four times daily to gain colour extraction. Temperatures peaked at 32?C and the wine was pressed to French oak barrels, 44%, then matured for 11 prior to being blended and bottled. 

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 and took its name from their surname and the shelter that the Marlborough Sounds provided to them when sailing in from a storm. They were living on their yacht at the time and the rough seas, coupled with the beauty of the Sounds, made them decide to plant a vineyard and live on terra firma once again.

Skip a few decades and Whitehaven is now one of the most successful and well established wineries in Marlborough, New Zealand's biggest wine region.