Inspired by a dream
During the 1990’s Greg and Sue White decided to make the sort of radical lifestyle change that many dream of, and so few actually put into practice. Shedding their corporate business suits the pair set sail on a 48-foot yacht named Chanticleer. Their daughter Samantha would spend the first six months of her life on the yacht.
Sheltering from the Pacific hurricane season Greg, Sue and Samantha ended up in the beautiful waters of the Marlborough Sounds. Inspired by the beauty of the region, the couple decided a Marlborough winery was the sort of project to see them return to dry land and set a new direction for themselves and Samantha.
So, in 1994 they established Whitehaven – named for the importance of family, and memorialising the calm port ‘haven’ they’d found while anchoring in Marlborough. The distinctive anchor insignia seen on the Whitehaven label forever connects Whitehaven to its nautical beginnings and is a marque of the wine label’s quality, consistency and integrity.
Today the company remains proudly family owned and is headed by Sue who continues the dream she and her late husband Greg shared.