Tapanappa began in 2001 when Brian and Ann Croser signed an agreement with the Bollinger and Cazes families. The mission of this partnership was to maximise the quality of wine produced in two sites: The Whalebone Vineyard in Wrattonbully, where plantings of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot produce perfectly structured and complex reds and secondly the Tiers vineyard in Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, which was planted by the Croser family in 1979 and is a proven site for Chardonnay.
This commitment to truthful representation of the terroir led Brian Croser further South to the Fleurieu Penninsula opposite Kangaroo Island, where he spotted the potential for Pinot Noir.