The first Rockhouse vines were planted in 1991 on a 200-acre farm owned by Lee Griffin and Marsha Cassedy. Over the years, the married couple had traveled widely for business as well as for pleasure. Wherever they happened to be -- California, Europe, South America, or Australia and New Zealand -- they always investigated the local wineries and vineyards. When they purchased their farm in Tryon, North Carolina, in 1989, it was with the intention of planting grapes.