The name Koparepare is Maori for gift.

Whitehaven Wines was founded by Greg and Sue White in 1994 after they sailed into the Marlborough Sounds to shelter from a storm in the early 1990s and fell for the natural beauty of the region and the haven it provided. So they decided to take the next natural step – set up a winery back on dry land, naming it, naturally enough, Whitehaven.