BYRON, Ga. — A Bryon woman is proving it's never too late to learn something new. Darlene Williams has been the owner of Roberts Vineyard since 2019, although owning a vineyard wasn't in her original life plans.
The vineyard is home to rows and rows of Muscadine grape vines. Her husband started growing grapes in 2003 as a hobby and when he could no longer maintain the vineyard, Williams took over and turned it into a business.
“I had no idea, didn’t want to own a vineyard, didn’t know I was going to be on this path. But since I’m on the path, I took the torch, ran with it and I’m going to continue my husband’s vision and our family legacy,” she said.
Williams’ background is in health and wellness and she owns a spa in downtown Macon. She says that learning to farm was something out of her wheelhouse when she started.
“A lot of it is trial and error if you’re out here by yourself. There are some days I would tear up the lawn mower, hit the vines, hit the poles with the lawn mower or the zero-turn, or the tractors, dig up some vines that don’t need to be dug up,” said Williams.
But now she’s found her stride.
“It feels good to be out in nature and just hear the birds chirping and it’s kind of my therapy,” she said.
She's grateful to have a community of farmers and vineyard owners who took her under her wing and allowed her to learn and grow. She wants to bring her own style and perspective to farming.
“I think that I’m impacting a lot of women, in general, African-American women, to let them know that there is a place for us in agriculture. So, I just want to lead the way and let them know that we can do whatever we would like to do,” she said.
She hopes to turn the vineyard into a full venue with tastings, tours and music. They're in the process of making wine from their last harvest and people may see wine from them in another six months or so.
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