The Cadwalladers planted the first vineyard in the early 1980s as part of their mixed farming operation. The winery was established in 1989 and has been in a state of growth ever since. The first grape crush consisted of five tons of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes and now crushes around 195 tons of both red and white varieties. While this is an astronomical increase the winery production will still be regarded as "boutique".

Over the years the focus in the vineyards has changed from being a grower producing a crop for someone else to process into wine to specifically training particular grapes in separate vineyards for particular wines. The vineyard workers have always practiced Integrated Winegrape Production (IWP).

The area of the farm converted to vineyards has increased from 16 to 75 acres over a ten year period and as their knowledge and experience in grape growing and wine making have increased they have strategically planted different varieties of grapes on different sites.

While Hawke's Bay generally with its long autumn has a climate ideally suited to winegrape production the Dartmoor Valley has been recognised as a premium grape growing area since the 1960s. The valley is nestled behind the low hills west of Napier and in front of the rolling foothills, which comprise the rich Puketiritiri basin, thus affording shelter from both the sea breezes and mountain storms. Hazardous weather conditions are minimal with a low unseasonal frost factor and often higher summer temperatures than those recorded closer to the coast. The warm nor'westerly wind prevails with its exceptional drying ability. The microclimate provided by the valley's topography and river's air currents make grape growing and ripening a worthwhile activity.

The basic philosophy of the wine making has been to enhance the fruit flavours produced by the Dartmoor Valley terroir by keeping it as simple as possible, following traditional European methods with New Zealand innovations.