The Marked Tree Dream
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Tim Parks and Lance Hiatt (R). Owners of Market Tree Vineyard.
When Lance Hiatt and Tim Parks first decided to step away from their professional careers in architecture and luxury retail to pursue their dream of creating a vineyard and winery, it was a daunting proposition to admit. “It was almost embarrassing to tell people that we were going to start a winery in a vineyard,” Lance recalls with a laugh. “I couldn't even say it.”
Nearly 15 years later, Lance and Tim are sitting on the elegant patio of their Marked Tree Vineyard, admiring a panoramic vista that features long rows of flourishing grapevines set against a backdrop of spectacular mountain views. With a glass of award-winning wine in hand and the satisfied countenance of two people who have pulled off an improbable accomplishment, Lance and Tim can look back now and celebrate a success achieved against very long odds.
Ultimately, the story of Marked Tree Vineyard is the classic tale of a dream made real through a combination of belief, determination, and perseverance. It is also the story of partners who surrounded themselves with supportive family, friends, and neighbors who shared in their dream - and collectively made that dream into an impressive reality.
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Tasting room at Marked Tree Vineyard
Marked Tree Vineyard is located atop the Eastern Continental Divide in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Lance and Tim purchased the land in 2015, planted the vineyard in 2016, and subsequently opened their spectacular tasting room in 2020. This year will be the fifth vintage for the relatively new winery and Marked Tree was recently recognized as one of USA Today’s Top Ten New Vineyards in America. Not bad for two people who just a decade ago knew almost nothing about viticulture and precious little about large-scale agriculture.
How does one transition from a professional career working in offices and crisscrossing the country for business to opening a winery? For Lance and Tim, the answer is “gradually.” As in very gradually. “It wasn't like one day we woke up and decided, ‘Hey, let's grow some grapes,’” explains Lance. “It was a slow process. Honestly, I didn't even know you could grow grapes on the east coast.”
Living in Atlanta at the time, the partners began to talk seriously about the possibility of starting their own winery in 2007. “We were on a wine vacation. We were sketching ideas on napkins, talking about it, and then it went from being just a conversation to being a dream,” explains Tim. Lance smiles at the memory. “It’s that moment with a glass of wine in hand and you think to your self, ‘We could do this.”
After 20+ year careers, both Lance and Tim were ready to do something completely different. Tim traveled extensively in his work and was a million-mile flyer. Lance was traveling to locations to design art facilities and music schools around the country. Eventually, the hectic pace began to wear on them, and they agreed that it would be nice to stay in one place for a while. “I don't think you can get more ‘in one place' than owning a vineyard,” Lance jokes. “We are planted. We are not going anywhere.”
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The Marked Tree patio overlooking the vineyard.
The search for an ideal location for their new venture took them to a number of locales in north Georgia and through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The search was years in the making and the partners actually put offers on other properties, but it just never was quite right. “It was a nine-year search. I don't think our real estate agent thought we were serious,” says Tim.
Eventually, however, the partners gravitated toward western North Carolina. Lance had spent many summers as a camper at Rockmont in Black Mountain and visiting family friends in Henderson County. He knew the area and it seemed like a good fit for their plans.
Finally, in 2015, Lance and Tim found the property they were looking for off Upward Road on a 50-acre property located in a place the neighbors call “Old Two Top.” The property had been an orchard once and then converted to a hay field. It was also heavily wooded on a part of the property that seemed most promising for locating grape vines. Where others saw hay and trees, Lance and Tim saw the place where their dream would be realized.
A friend arrived with a drone that flew above the trees and revealed the potential for a dramatic mountain view. The first money earned in the new venture was the sale of 25 acres of lumber that was cleared to make way for the vineyard. The sale provided some startup cash and also created wonderful views of Pisgah to the north and Tryon to the south. The following year, 2016, novice viticulturalists Lance and Tim planted their first vines.
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Harvest time at Marked Tree
A location in the mountains of North Carolina offered Marked Tree some advantages - and some challenges. The siting of the vineyard is a critical determinant for a quality grape. The site’s climate, soil, elevation, and days of sunlight all contribute to grape and wine quality. Marked Tree is located at an elevation of 2300 feet where air circulation also helps suppress disease and mitigates the threat of spring frost.
A southern exposure helps the vines optimize their daily photosynthesis and the slope of the land at Marked Tree helps water drain away from the vineyard in a region known for high rain totals. “Grapes do not like too much water. They do not like wet feet,” explains Lance. The rocky, sandy loam soil adds an interesting element of struggle to the vineyard. According to the Marked Tree website “Struggle is good for the vigorous vines.”
One of the first and most important steps in the creation of the vineyard was Lance’s commitment to study Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College in Dobson, NC. Commuting to school, Lance acquired the technical and winery management skills to operate a winery - an experience that was not without its challenges. “It was hard,” he says with a wry smile, “I had not had biology or chemistry since college.”
He also learned about what it takes to farm on a large scale. “I'd always grown things. I had a huge garden when I lived in Columbia, SC.” Then pointing to the acres of vines on the nearby hillside, “But not on this scale. A victory garden this is not!”
Visiting other vineyards was also an important part of the partners’ education regarding the operation of a successful vineyard/winery. “We got to know who we wanted to be. We ended up borrowing a lot of traits from the places that we really enjoyed,” Tim explains.
The result is a tasting room that is very much an indoor and outdoor facility. Large doors are opened during the warmer months and patrons can spill out and spread out on the adjoining patio and lawns. Lance and Tim also borrowed from Biltmore Estate the feature of a long and winding entrance up the hillside that culminates in a spectacular first view of the winery perched high atop “Old Two Top.” “Guests get to experience the ‘surprise of arrival,’” says Tim.
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The Tasting Room
The aesthetics of both the location and physical structure of the winery are striking and a wonderful complement to the wines served at Marked Tree. The ambiance is relaxed, but the attention to detail throughout the tasting room belies the years of planning and the drive of Lance and Tim to create a space that reflects their passion and personality.
During the startup phase, Lance and Tim would invite friends - many of them architects or interior designers - and they would spend hours drinking wine and sketching out concepts for the winery. “That was part of our journey, part of the process, which made it so interesting,” explains Lance.
The design also reflects the partners’ seriousness about producing excellent wine. “We’re not really about having a party or being a bar. We want people to understand about wine and the making of wine.” The result is a laid-back atmosphere featuring excellent wine, comfortable conversation, and incredible mountain vistas.
One of the earliest and most significant decisions involved deciding on a name for their winery. Given the long process and winding path they traveled to actualize their dream, Marked Tree became symbolic of their journey. As their website explains:
Early in American history settlers noticed oddly shaped, bent trees in the landscape. These odd-shaped trees were formed and created by Native Americans to be guideposts through the wilderness, a guide to water, a guide to food, a guide to hunting - a navigation system.
In 2015 we were in search of our own path, a Marked Tree. We wanted a place where all our family’s different paths could cross and converge. Our passion for farming, meeting new people, creating new experiences and, of course, wine, led us here.
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After 13 years of dreaming, planning, planting, building, and harvesting, Marked Tree opened to the public in May of 2020 - at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic scare. “We tried to figure out everything from soup to nuts. But we weren't planning for a pandemic. That wasn't part of the business plan,” Tim says with wry grin.
Faced with yet another daunting hurdle, Lance and Tim rolled up their sleeves and went back to the drawing board. They began to reimagine what the Marked Tree experience might be for their customers. Doors were opened, tables and chairs were spread out over the adjoining lawns, servers wore masks, safety protocols were created and Marked Tree forged ahead. “There was furniture everywhere,” Tim says with a laugh. “It looked like a yard sale out there.”
The new arrangement was safer but physically taxing for the staff. Because the customers were spread out, servers spent a lot of time simply walking back and forth. “The team was averaging about 16 to 19,000 steps a day. We would all look at our iPhones or Fitbits at the end of the day and compare numbers of steps taken.”
It was a slow start. They opened their doors and had one customer. “We were really excited about that one person.” Lance chuckles. “But the slower start gave us time to figure out the flow and how things would work.”
And it did work. Customers began arriving. The outdoor seating was a particular draw for people looking for places they could go and feel safe. Plus, word of the gracious environment, the impressive views, and the quality of the wine began to spread. Marked Tree was making its mark.
Two years later, Lance and Tim are now hustling to keep up with the growing demand for their wines and the burgeoning popularity of the winery. And, as the pandemic slowly winds down, they are excited about experiencing what it means to operate their business during “normal times.” “For the first almost two years,” says Tim, “we wore masks every day. When we took them off our regular customers didn't know who we were.”
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Marked Tree features several award-winnng Wines.
Despite its young age, Marked Tree has already enjoyed considerable success. In addition to the USA Today Reader’s Choice award, Marked Tree wines received a number of awards at this year’s North Carolina Fine Wines Competition - considered by some as the toughest wine competition in the country. Each of Marked Tree’s 10 entries won a medal and their Grüner Veltliner received one of only four Gold Medals awarded out of 170 entries. The Marked Tree Chardonel also won Best Hybrid Wine.
Looking back at all that has happened and all that they have accomplished, Lance and Tim remain humble and extremely grateful for the considerable help they’ve received from family, friends, and generous neighbors. Friends and family have been integral in the process of planting, cultivating, and harvesting the vineyard.
Neighbors have reached out to help the new vintners in a number of ways. When their new John Deere tractor arrived, a neighbor arrived to help them figure out how to operate it. Another neighbor took on the task of helping to mow the lawns. Another neighbor helped them pull stumps and clear the land. “Our neighbors have been really amazing, “ says Lance. Tim adds “I think everybody was really happy to see this land be agriculture as opposed to another subdivision.” Lance and Tim are also grateful for neighbors who helped buoy them during the difficult start-up phase. “When we were down in the muck, feeling overwhelmed, the neighborhood came in and made a big difference.”
Fifteen years after first speaking their dream into existence, Lance and Tim can - during the rare quiet moments in their busy lives - reflect back on all that has happened and all that they have accomplished. “The most gratifying part of it is to say it was a dream and we did it,” says Tim.
Then lifting a glass of wine into a bright blue summer sky, Lance adds. “Now, when we look at a glass of wine, we know everything that has gone into making that wine. Sometimes it's hard to fathom. We make wine!”
Marked Tree Vineyard is located at 623 Deep Gap Road Flat Rock, NC 28731.
Marked Tree also has a tasting room in Asheville at 14 Aston Street
Asheville, NC 28801.
Learn more and see their full selection of wines at www.markedtreevineyard.com
