Chard Farm was established in 1987 by Motueka brothers Rob & Greg Hay. They were the first to come into the area with the intention of setting up a commercial vineyard and selected the Chard Farm site after careful evaluation of the peculiarities of grape growing in Central Otago.

Rob studied winemaking in Germany for three years in the early eighties before returning to New Zealand in 1985 to search for the "terroir" that best emulated the cool continental climate and soils of some of the greatest wine producing areas of the world -- most notably the Burgundy and Alsace regions of France. That search lead to Central Otago. The long term goal being to craft the finest classic cool climate varietal wines of Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.