Possum Vineyards was the brainchild of Ben and Lee Sparks of Possum Trot Road in the northwest corner of the county. As a retired U.S. Navy family having lived in Hawaii and Iceland among other places, the Sparks chose Brown County for their new home in 1968. Once settled in their modest farmhouse, Ben planted some French-American hybrid grapes. Lee says this was the beginning of learning and experimentation.