We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stef Parker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stef below.
Hi Stef , thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
I survived an actual “witch trial”in the year of 2024 here in Barnesville Georgia. At the time, I was hosting an holistic health and arts event called “Witchy Craft” and curating an art show called “The Dark Arts” in the fall of 2024. Late September, the rumors began, perpetuated by a local government official. She was telling the townspeople that I was putting “voodoo” in my wine, which was brainwashing the locals.. She even went as far as to contact a local college and asked them to remove any images of me, from their website and refused to let me read to children at the library. Shortly thereafter, hysteria broke out. There was also a local radio dj telling the public that I was bringing demons to the community, online harassment and whispers of cross burnings. There was a suspicious fire on my property that destroyed several grapevines. This witch hunt even affected those close to me.. I had several friends who were also accused of being witches. Some lost their businesses and a couple were ran out of town. Despite all of that, I did have some love and support here. I was encouraged to run for a chamber of commerce executive board seat that had recently became available and I won! Since then, I have become an advocate for all business owners in my community. I took the lemons and made lemonade with a brand new business slogan. ’Wine So Good, You’ll Think There’s Voodoo in It!”
Stef , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Stef Parker and I’m also known as the Goth Gardener. Im a United States Army OEF OIF combat veteran and the first woman of color wine maker in Georgia state history, I’m the Owner and CEO of The Goth Gardener LLC. My winery, The Winery at MoonLight Manor was established in 2020, with its wine label “Wikkid Eden”. My wines are vegan, chemical and cruelty free meaning no added sulfites or animal by products. My winery is the only black owned vegan winery in Georgia. The Wikkid Eden Wine label boasts of 30 different flavors of all natural muscadine grape and fruit wines. We also offer fruit jams and preserves. Bottle prices for wine range from $30 to $40 and jellies are $10. We do offer wine tastings here on location for $20 per person, by reservation only. My Winery and Wines have won several awards. Levitation won gold and Toxicity won silver at The Southeast Winemaker Challenge in 2024. Toxicity won gold, Euphoria and Levitation won bronze at the Georgia Wine Invitational in 2025. The winery won bronze in Telegraph’s Best of Middle Georgia for Wineries in 2025.
I’m also a children’s book author and publisher. I have penned three children’s books. “Why Do Flies Come to Barbecues”, “There are Monsters in my Room” and “If I Could Be”. All three books can be purchased via my website and Amazon. You can also stop by Milner Community Library in Lamar County and find my books on the shelves, free for all to read. When I’m not crafting up delicious batches of vegan wine and writing children’s books, I’m working as an Art Director curating exhibitions at Lamar Arts Gallery in Barnesville. And telling “HERstory” as Madam Secretary for the National Association of Black Military Women Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter, formerly known as The Black WAC.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Online marketing has been rather beneficial for my business. From advertising on social media platforms to keeping a strong presence in Google search, Majority of my customers find me via the internet.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I have long enjoyed the hobby of winemaking, as it was a wonderful by product of my other hobby, gardening. It all began by making personal bottles for family and friends. Once the requests for my bottles became a solid demand, I decided to file for my federal license to legally manufacture and sell alcohol.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TheGothGardener.Com
- Instagram: The_GothGardener
- Facebook: The Goth Gardener
- Other: My children’s books can all be purchased on Amazon:
Why Do Flies Come to Barbeques?”
https://a.co/d/8tKlIC1There Are Monsters in My Room!”
https://a.co/d/3U5u6loIf I Could Be”
https://a.co/d/5lXd60k
