Our Story

Fruit of the Vine opened just last year (2019). Beth Vannoy, owner of Fruit of the Vine, juggles a full time career, her family (Jay, Tate {9}, Alec {7}, and Bella {Shih Tzu, 2}), a Non-Profit she founded in honor of her son Alec who was diagnosed with a rare genetic metabolic disorder at birth, and Fruit of the Vine.

Beth says, “I love telling the story of how all of these things that I do in my life bring me such joy. People look at me like I’m crazy, because I do have a lot going on. I just love seeing God work. I see unfold before my eyes how He uses an area or experience in my life to lead me to the next chapter. It’s amazing.”

“After college at Wake Forest University, I picked up and moved from Wilkes County, North Carolina to San Diego, California. Talk about culture shock. Wow. I loved it there. I attended Law School and found my career in a mid-size litigation firm traveling between California and Nevada practicing law. One Thanksgiving I returned to North Carolina and ended up reconnecting with an old friend that would ultimately become my husband. In six months time, I had packed up my belongings, changed course in my legal career, and moved back home to Wilkes County, North Carolina. Culture shock again. Yes, most definitely. By 2010, I found myself settled into a new role as General Counsel at Window World, Inc. This career has been both challenging and rewarding, but as time passed on, I felt the need to do something more with my life....something that got to the heart of my purpose for being here.

Jay and I have two incredible boys, Tate and Alec. They are the light of our lives. It’s the story of Alec’s birth that shed a new light on what it means to be a parent. Tate was twenty-three months old when Alec was born. Alec seemed to be a completely healthy, happy newborn. Through North Carolina’s Newborn Screening Program, we learned that Alec is affected by a genetic metabolic disorder that affects so few people it is classified as a Rare Disease. To read the full story of Alec’s diagnosis, please visit www.MinutesMatter-MCADD.org. As I began to ponder what “more” I could do with my life outside of my career, it seemed the natural answer was that God has given us Alec (and MCADD) so that I could try to help others with this disorder, hence the birth of our non-profit, founded in Alec’s honor, Minutes Matter - MCADD.

Once I got the non-profit established, I stumbled upon ONEHOPE wine. I do enjoy a good glass of wine. But I fell in love with ONEHOPE because each bottle of wine that they offer is “partnered” with a cause. I felt like it was a sign that I become a cause entrepreneur for ONEHOPE when I learned that their bottle of Gewurztraminer (made from a “rare” grape) is partnered with Global Genes, which is an organization that advocates for Rare Disease. Global Genes is a partner with Minutes Matter - MCADD! Therefore, I formed “Fruit of the Vine” and began hosting wine tastings to raise money for Global Genes and Minutes Matter. Every wine tasting that I hosted raised money not only for the wine partners of ONEHOPE, but also for a nonprofit of choice, which is my case with Minutes Matter.

My mom is also an entrepreneur. She owns Annatiques, an Antique Shop. Around the time that I was getting started with ONEHOPE, she was relocating from Wilkesboro to Main Street in North Wilkesboro. She invited me to share some space in her shop to promote my tastings and tell the story of Minutes Matter. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that God’s plan was so much bigger than I had ever imagined. I began to grow my offerings in mom’s shop, integrating inspirational gifts. I looked at it as a way to share my faith with others.

Within three months time, my vision began to catch up with God’s plan. I feel as though He placed “breadcrumbs” in my path to lead me to where I am today. I found a space to lease just down the street from Annatiques. (According to the landlord, the space was spoken for by someone else two weeks prior, but something changed in those circumstances and it suddenly became available....for us!). A boutique in nearby Hickory, NC had suddenly decided to close its doors, so mom and I went to visit. I walked in and got chills. Much of my furniture and initial inventory was right there in front of me!

Fruit of the Vine kept its original name because it now means so much more to me than I had originally envisioned. Adorning the wall in our shop is the Bible verse, John 15:5. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I will remain in Him. And for Him, I will do great things. Please come visit us at Fruit of the Vine!”