GARDIENS DE LA TERRE
CARETAKERS
The Property
The land known today as Souther Williams Vineyard has a long and storied history rooted in the spirit of family and friends. The land originally comprised most of what today is the Hoopers Creek valley and consisted of 10,000 acres back in the mid 1800’s. The 35 acre property, which is what is left today, forms the old original homeplace and you can still find remnants on the property today from an era gone by.
We give homage to Ken’s grandparents Carrie Souther and JK Williams in naming our vineyard after them.
Our heritage which tracks back to England and Scotland is rooted in caring for the land. In fact, the name Parker has its roots in Scottish Clans and emanates from the occupation Park keeper. This heritage led to our motto “Guardian de la Terre” which simply means Caretaker of the land. Angela, Ashleigh and I are caretakers for a short time and we are excited to share our love of this place with you and welcome you to the Southern Williams family.
Meet the Caretakers
Ken Parker and Angela Adams
and their Granddaughter, Ashleigh
Angela and I have spent our professional lives in Banking and Technology. In our heart, we are entrepreneurs with a deep creative love. Along the way, we developed a passion for great wines and a love for the industry that led us first to build The Highlander Cigar Club which specialized in high end wines and cigars and then in 2016 to the creation of Souther Williams Vineyard. Angela also worked as a wine consultant and event planner in her spare time for many years.
Our travels have taken us all over the world but we discovered our passion lies in the green hills and the rolling valleys of Western North Carolina. Our love for wine and our commitment to giving new life to our old family farm is driving us to create this small slice of heaven and to share it with each of you.
It is our belief that the best is yet to be with wines from North Carolina and we are dedicated to growing high quality fruit from this fertile soil and providing our customers with the best possible experience as you visit this very special place in the Crest of the Blue Ridge appellation.
“Ashleigh is beginning her college studies and has been involved in building the vineyard from the ground up and intends to study fermentation sciences with the goal of being our winemaker one day.”