Walking between rows of vines laden with grapes, across the dips and rises of Greenvale Vineyards’ hills, Bill Wilson feels at home. In a way, he is.
The Portsmouth, Rhode Island, vineyard and winery has been in his family for eight generations, since 1863. He grew up running under the feet of adults in the vineyard’s tasting room, a converted 1860s barn and stable, and, later, harvesting grapes and working the property when he wasn’t studying anthropology at Northeastern University.
In all that time, Wilson and the vineyard have grown significantly. Wilson, who graduated from Northeastern in 2015, now co-runs Greenvale with his mother, Nancy Parker Wilson, and serves as the vineyard’s winemaker. He’s helped it through thick and thin. Bringing creative solutions and utilizing his anthropology background in unexpected ways, Wilson has helped the vineyard not just survive but thrive through the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing effects of climate change.
