Today we’d like to introduce you to Stef.
Hi Stef, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The year was 2018 when I began contemplating the lifelong dream of owning my own winery. I enjoyed the hobby of gardening very much. It was my personal therapy and my outlet to cope with the symptoms of combat-related PTSD. Gardening allowed me to see the beauty in life, living and nature once again.
Wine making was of course, a by-product of the rewards of harvest. My ancestors would create moonshine and wines, so it wasn’t foreign to me. At the time, my wines were a personal gift that I only shared with my very few family and friends. That is until 2020 and the arrival of Covid 19. It was the year of the plague when I finally came face to face with the super real decision to pursue my dream. I was encouraged by those who enjoyed my wines to consider selling them. However, I had my own reservations about actually doing so because of my disabilities. Yet, with all the death tolls from the pandemic rising, I asked myself…”Have you yet lived? Could you die today and be happy with life as it is?”….The answer was no. So I decided to get busy to change that perspective. After much consideration and research, I filed for my official federal liquor license in January of 2021 as part of a new year, new life resolution. The rest is history.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were many obstacles along my journey. The first being that I have a combat-related disease. Chasing dreams with PTSD is quite a difficult adventure if I’m going to be most honest about it. I learned a lot about myself and my disability. Another major factor that impacted my journey was being that I am a woman entering into agritourism, a male-dominated field. I didn’t have anyone I felt that I could depend on to ask anything. So I decided to reach out to other women winemakers and vintners for advice. That is when I realized that I was the first and only woman of color winemaker in state history. There was no blueprint because I was making it. I had to find the questions and the answers by myself. I also had to do all of the physical labor ie renovating my shop to building the vineyard and training vines, on top of all the paperwork and winemaking, all alone. It was tedious and arduous work. Tough as it may have been, my desire to bring my dream to fruition was even tougher.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the first woman of color and combat veteran winemaker in Georgia state history. I am The Goth Gardener LLC and I own The Winery at MoonLight Manor. My wine label is Wikkid Eden, which boasts of 14 different TTB-approved flavors of grape and fruit wines. My wines are all-natural and chemical-free with much respect to Mother Earth and the environment. With keeping Georgia and her native plants and fruits first, the muscadine is the superior grape of choice in my wines.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My best advice is to let your dream guide you to your team. Vibe with your tribe. I surrounded myself with goal-driven like-minded women, who were on the same path to entrepreneurship as me. Through sisterhood and perseverance, my tribe and I were able to get assistance and assist each other. Like the old saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work.
Pricing:
- MoonLight Muscadine 750 ml $40
- Dragon’s Blood 750 ml $30
- Toxicity 750 ml $30
- Impaler’s Reserve 750 ml $30
- Fruit Preserves 8 oz $15
- Reserved 1 hr Wine Tasting $20
Contact Info:
- Website: TheGothGardener.Com
- Instagram: The_GothGardener
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegardenergoth
