Staff Members

Jim

Jim's winemaking career started at the tender age of 5 when he gathered baskets of dandelions for his dad who made dandelion wine. In college, he learned to distill spirits. A farmer at heart, he loves nature, animals, and the land, and proudly owns 2 agricultural parcels of land in Vermont. Jim began making maple syrup at his farm in Colchester in 1988, and raised a large flock of sheep for meat, in addition to beef cattle, pigs, and various poultry. In 2007 Jim and his wife started planting their vineyard in Colchester with cold hardy grape varietals. The Butler Island Vineyard was planted in 2008, with both vineyards undergoing expansion in quantity and varietals of grapes each year. Jim is an avid hunter, particularly enjoying duck and deer season in the fall.

Judy

Judy's favorite thing to do is to play in dirt! During the growing season, you are most likely to find her in the vineyards or the vegetable and perennial gardens. You know that Judy has had a great day outside if she is covered in richly composted soil from head to toe! During the winter, Judy helps out in the winery with bottling, and come late winter/early spring, can be found in the sugarhouse making delicious maple syrup.

Jordan

Jordan is the talented website developer of Hillis' Sugarbush Farm & Vineyard. A graduate of Colchester High School and Burlington Technical Center, he has completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in cybersecurity at Champlain College and earned his Doctoral degree (Doctor of Science) in cybersecurity at Marymount University. He continues to proudly serve as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. Despite living away from Vermont, Jordan has not forgotten his farm roots. When he is home on leave, he continues to help his family in their maple sugaring operation, grape harvest, and wine bottling. Jordan also provides his expertise in cybersecurity to help his family and their business maintain their digital security. Jordan's family is immensely proud of him for his service to his country and his accomplishments in the field of cybersecurity. Semper Fi!

Chris

Julianne

Jake

Jake is a self-proclaimed computer geek. He loves computer programming, and can usually be found surrounded by several computer screens running various computer languages simultaneously. On occasion Jake helps out in the wine cellar, lugging cases of wine to and fro, harvesting grapes, or stacking firewood for the house and sugarhouse. Jake is a graduate of Colchester High School, and works full time off the farm.

Zola

Zola, our 7 year old standard poodle, takes her job of critter chaser very seriously, patrolling the vineyard daily to ensure various forms of wildlife are not eating the grapes.

Delia

Delia, our 2 year old standard poodle, loves to playfully greet everyone who comes to the farm, including but not limited to the UPS and FEDEX drivers.

Clara

Granddaughter Clara can be found foraging the gardens on the farm, enjoying various fruits and veggies as snacks throughout the day. As a talented dancer, Clara entertains the family with impromptu dance recitals which are thoroughly enjoyed!

Amelia

Granddaughter Amelia is always ready to help with any task on the farm, from stacking firewood, picking grapes, gardening, and riding on farm equipment. Along with her sister Clara, she is an accomplished dancer who enjoys performing dance recitals for the family wherever we are!