Misty Cove Wines

Our story

The independent
that got big

Marlborough's self-made outsider, since 2008.

01 Chapter I

Built by hand
since 2008

Misty Cove isn’t your average Marlborough wine producer, and we never set out to be. No dynasty, no conglomerate, no surname on the door, just a love of New Zealand wine and a stubborn urge to do it differently, in a brand we built by hand from 2008.

Like a lot of good ideas, we found our feet a long way from home, building a following across Europe before coming home in 2012, the outsider the whole way, self-made and founder-led, but somewhere along the line we became one of the country’s biggest producers. The independent that got big.

We keep moving and renewing, shaped by everyone who’s poured a piece of themselves into it over the years. That spirit runs through every bottle. Misty stays.

the long way round

02 Chapter II

From the vine
to the bottle

It starts with the land. Vines tended the way they should be, crop levels kept where they ought to be, and after that as little as we can get away with. Less is more.

Then it is mostly patience. Picking when the fruit is ready rather than when the calendar says so. Time on lees for texture, and acacia barrels for the same reason, which has quietly become our signature. We are not afraid to blend, to do things differently, or to enjoy ourselves doing it.

our own hands

03 Chapter III

Grown in
the Wairau

Our flagship Fareham Lane vineyard, just out of Renwick, grows the fruit for our top single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, alongside Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Most of our other sites are dotted across the Wairau Valley.

We tend it ourselves — 322 hectares in Marlborough, sustainably certified, managed hands-on so quality traces right back to the vine.

41°30′S — 173°50′E · Fareham Lane, Renwick

Chapter V

The ones
still pouring it

  • Tim May

    Managing director

    Marlborough born and bred, with a career in business and commerce before this one. Tim has been in the engine room since the early days, and holds that everything a company manages to do comes back to its culture.

    tim@mistycovewines.com
  • Jarrod Englefield

    Commercial director

    Marlborough-raised and here from the beginning, Jarrod has carried Misty Cove around the world. If you want to know where the brand is heading, ask him. He is at the coalface most days.

    jarrod@mistycovewines.com
  • Emmanuel “Manu” Bolliger

    Chief winemaker

    South African-born and French-trained, Manu keeps the old-school philosophy: get the grapes right and let nature take its course. Off the clock he is somewhere out of range, curing meat and making cheese at Rārangi.

    emmanuel@mistycovewines.com
  • Nicky Parish

    Winemaker and production

    North Canterbury-raised, Nicky brings the precision: the lab work, the production planning, the unseen scaffolding that turns a good idea into a great wine. She will tell you she loves a spreadsheet, and a very good Chardonnay.

    nicky@mistycovewines.com
  • Carlos Rojas Stiven

    Marketing manager

    Carlos looks after how Misty looks and sounds: the storytelling, the campaigns, the labels and the packaging. A wine has to be good in the glass and good on the shelf, and the second half is his.

    carlos@mistycovewines.com
  • Jayden Duthie

    Chief financial officer

    Jayden steers the financial side: budgets, investment, and the planning that lets a small company grow without losing its footing. His daughters describe the job as counting the money for the grapes.

    jayden@mistycovewines.com
  • Alyssa May

    Customer experience

    Alyssa looks after customers and accounts, and makes sure what you ordered arrives when it should. You will also find her pouring at events here and overseas, telling the story in person.

    alyssa@mistycovewines.com
  • Randy Fabian

    VP of strategic development

    Randy has spent more than a decade in the American wine trade, and ten years living in New Zealand before that. He knows both ends of the journey a bottle makes to get there.

    randy@mistycovewines.com
  • David James

    Digital marketing

    Photographer and writer, David has worked inside Misty's digital side for years and now supports the marketing team. His own work runs to fashion and weddings, all of it storytelling.

    david@mistycovewines.com

Wherever you are

Mount Stokes, Marlborough Sounds · 41°05′S 174°06′E