Farms: Willow Spring Vineyards - A Decade in the Making... and Well Worth the Wait

Willow Spring Vineyards is a family-owned winery that specializes in crafting artisanal wines from hand-selected, estate grown grapes. The winery was founded by Jim and Cindy Parker, who purchased the property in 2002. Over the last 10 years, the Parkers have converted the farmland and its eighteenth century barn into a vast vineyard and modern winery complete with a wonderful tasting room that preserves the charm and history of the space. The Parkers have created five unique wines produced from estate grown grapes including Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Vignoles, Marechal Foch, Leon Millot, and Cabernet Franc. Each of the wines has garnered praise and acclaim from local wine enthusiasts as well as a a number of New England wine competitions. In this segment, the Parkers explain how they decided to to start the winery - with virtually no experience, why the land makes for an excellent site to grow grapes, and how the process of renovating and restoring the barn was a massive undertaking, though well worth the effort. Willow Spring Vineyards is located at 840 West Lowell Ave. in Haverhill, MA 01832, Please e-mail jim.willowspring@yahoo.com or call 978-374-1473 for a personal tour and tasting. Editor's note: This video segment was produced by French Oak TV and is the fourteenth in a series profiling the Massachusetts Farm Winery & Growers Association and each of its member wineries.