It all began with two families.
Back in the early 1800’s, the Randall and Standish families migrated to the South Bristol area from New England. They settled in the region and grew hops and small fruit. As times changed, they concentrated more on grapes, apples, berries, and dairy cattle. In the early 1900’s Elmer Standish married Anna Randall. They had two daughters, Dorothy and Doris. Doris married John Brahm Jr. They had four boys, John III, Roger, Tom, and Paul. In 1971 John and Tom purchased the Randall farm. They are the great-great grandchildren of Gaius Randall, the original owner of the farm. Tom and John the began growing grapes for large regional wineries. In 1975 the larger wineries decreased their purchases from area growers. John then came up with the idea of processing grapes into juice for the home winemaker. With the long history of farming in the family they found it only appropriate to name the farm Randall-Standish Vineyards.
It’s truly a family affair.
In 2018, John sold his share of the business to his brother, Paul Brahm, and his niece and nephew, Melissa Brahm Woolley and Thomas John (TJ) Brahm. Today, Paul, Melissa, TJ, and Tom work together to continue the family farming tradition while preserving the legacy of Randall Standish Vineyards.
Melissa and TJ also own and operate Barrel Necessities at Randall Standish Vineyards, a specialty shop offering winemaking supplies, wine and a unique tasting experience. The juices produced at Randall Standish Vineyards are used to create the Barrel Necessities wine collection, with each wine thoughtfully named after descendants of the Randall and Standish families to honor the vineyard’s rich heritage.
Barrel Necessities is open Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. from March through December. During the fall harvest season, the shop is open seven days a week to serve customers during the busiest time of the year.