Evidence for the success of relationship marketing (RM) remains contradictory, with practitioners reporting that most RM efforts fail, and academic researchers suggesting that further exploration of the boundary conditions of RM are needed. A number of researchers have identified changes in the competitive environment as the basis for the adoption of RM, although recent research suggests a more complex, contingent view. This paper identifies a number of contextual conditions that influence the development and evolution of relationship strategies drawing upon longitudinal case studies from the New Zealand wine industry. The findings identify changes in the form and intensity of relationships. The source of these changes is identified. Based on this analysis, four marketing 'gestalts' are identified. The evolution of each gestalt is then explained, with the approaches used by firm’s to navigate from one gestalt to another identified.