Of all the Lauer children to be a part of the family business, none seemed less likely than David, who was just fifteen when his family made a wild decision to jump into the wine industry. Vocally opposed to participating, he left for college in New York City, determined to be somebody. It turns out that New York City is the perfect place to develop a profound appreciation for food, wine, and open space, and he soon found himself back at the vineyard working summers in the fields and the cellar. Upon graduating in 2016, he came back to work for a bit before figuring out his next step, but as he continued to learn in the cellar alongside Rachel, he found himself being sucked into the passionate, sticky, and wild world of winemaking. Once he caught the bug, he couldn’t shake it, and he quickly became Bryn Mawr’s most visible and vocal storyteller.

When David joined, he was one of three full time employees alongside his dad and Rachel, so he found himself filling any gaps, jumping from position to position as the winery needed. Over the next five years, he would fill nearly every possible role at the winery, from tasting room manager to cellar assistant to forklift operator to running the entire DTC program at just 24 years of age, and sometimes all of those in the same week. He was instrumental in growing the tasting room from his dad’s basement into our new facilities, enduring every speed bump along the way. When COVID struck, he left hospitality and found himself back in the cellar for a stint during the difficult 2020 vintage, an experience that would fundamentally reshape his view towards the role of winemakers and the purpose of the wine industry. Bit by a newfound enregy, he returned to hospitality and sales in full force, developing our experiential tasting program and diving into the tumultuous yet exciting world of national sales.

Though it’s increasingly rare that you’ll find him in the tasting room, David still makes every effort to tell Bryn Mawr’s story to whichever ear he gets the chance to catch. Whether it’s through a vineyard tour, at a winemaker dinner, or if you just catch him out and about, it’s no challenge at all to get him talking for hours and hours about wine, the Willamette Valley, Bryn Mawr, and his mentor through it all, Rachel. He’s a passionate advocate for sustainability in all aspects of the wine industry, and his extensive houseplant collection and garden are evidence of his love for the botanical world and all of its wonders. His greatest pleasure is getting to be Bryn Mawr’s megaphone nationwide, and he credits his years of working on the ground alongside Rachel with his palpable adoration for wine and the wine industry.