Meet Our Team of Dedicated Staff Who Bring You The Finest Products

Steve Bird - Wine Maker

Steve's journey in winemaking started in 1978, with an after school job at the sole local winery which quickly paved his passion and career in winemaking. After studying in Australia and completing an internationally recognised degree in wine science, he returned to his homeland where he joined New Zealand's burgeoning wine industry.

Ross Burney - USA & New Zealand

Ross has had a very successful career as a wine and spirits guru, leading teams for the likes of Pernod Ricard, Wolf Blass, and been a successful investor in several NZ wineries. With this wealth of experience, Ross has been able to create his latest masterpiece. Whale Islands.

Emmy

Emmy helps out around the vineyards and makes sure the winemakers and viticulture guys are doing a good job. Thanks Emmy..

Who We Are

Whale Islands brand was established in 2013 as part of the vegan lineup in the Moana Park Estate portfolio. Following the sale of Moana Park in 2022, Whale Islands is now in the capable hands of Wine veteran Ross Burney. Ross has a long career in the wine industry, spanning 4 decades, and Whale Islands is a representation of a life's work.

At Whale Islands we aim go one step further and generate positive impact in the wine sector by embedding and executing our sustainability strategy within the team and our business strategy. Our sustainability strategy also aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Behind the scenes, we have been working on the execution of this sustainability strategy taking into consideration the triple balance between people, planet and profit, while maintaining a holistic and systemic approach, and using innovation consciously to solve problems.

We are all – consciously or unconsciously - on this journey now. We embark to embed positive impact into our everyday practices in the world of wine.

Sustainability