Interview
This interview is with Will Craigie of Bryn Mawr Vineyards. In this interview, Will discusses the many pivots he took that led him to the wine industry.
Will talks about his beginnings as a musician and performer. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Will performed in an acoustic rock band as a guitar player. After many incredible experiences within the music industry, Will decided he needed a lifestyle change in 2006. During his time as a musician, Will worked in restaurants on the side. After leaving the music industry, Will continued working in restaurants in the kitchen, guiding the chaos of service. Later, Will started working in a kitchen at a wine tasting venue where he learned a lot about wine through making wine lists and taking opportunities to help on the line.
Will discusses his transition to Oregon and the wine industry. Will’s boss at the restaurant had sent Will on a trip to the Willamette Valley to taste wines and bring back to the restaurant. Will was captured by Oregon and decided to make another pivot into the Oregon wine industry, not at a winery, but as a wine tour driver. Will started his own wine tour company and took people across the valley for tastings, frequently visiting Bryn Mawr. When Will’s business went under during the pandemic in 2020, he started working part-time at Bryn Mawr as a cellar assistant. By 2021, Will was brought on full-time as a cellar assistant and before that harvest was over, he was named cellar master. In 2022, Will transitioned into an assistant winemaker role.
Later in the interview, Will talks about his future and the future of the Oregon wine industry. Will is happy at Bryn Mawr and does not plan on going anywhere. Will believes he still has more to learn at Bryn Mawr, specifically the vineyard side of things. As for the wine industry, Will trusts that things will regenerate as they have done in the past. He has hopes for the future for himself and the industry.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bryn Mawr Vineyards in Salem on August 19, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Krista Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards. In this interview, Krista shares her journey from pursuing a career in the art industry to her current role at her family’s winery.
Krista discusses her upbringing and how her parents’ passion for wine influenced her. She goes on to share about attaining her undergrad from Willamette University and then her decision to move to Colorado for a graduate program.
Later in the interview, Krista shares about her journey back to Oregon and finding a place at Bryn Mawr. Krista then dives into the many projects she is working on and is excited to roll out.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bryn Mawr Vineyards in Salem on July 21, 2025.
Interview
This interview is with David Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards. In this interview, David talks about his relationship with wine and the different dynamics of his family’s business.
David shares about growing up in San Diego and his first impressions of Oregon wine when his parents bought Bryn Mawr Vineyards. He goes on to talk about working his first harvest at Bryn Mawr and how he truly found a passion for the vines and cellar work.
Later in the interview, David talks about being part of his family’s business. He then dives into what his current role is and what his hopes for both Oregon and himself are for the future.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bryn Mawr Vineyards in Salem on July 21, 2025.
Interview
This interview is with Rachel Rose, the winemaker at Bryn Mawr Vineyards. In this interview, Rachel describes her unconventional upbringing, how she got into wine through her passion for the culinary world, the education she received, and her time studying Viticulture and Oenology in Australia. She then goes on to speak about what it was like coming to Oregon and working harvest at Ponzi and eventually making her way to help develop vineyards at Bryn Mawr. Later, Rachel talks about the Innovation Series at Bryn Mawr, work-life balance, and being a woman winemaker in the wine industry. Towards the end of the interview, Rachel touches on what she sees within the future, and what she has had to change over the past few months due to COVID-19. To conclude, she speaks of the changes in the Oregon wine industry since she started and what the role of wine in society is.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bryn Mawr on June 29, 2020.
Interview
This interview is with Jon and Kathy Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards. In this interview, the couple speak about how they got into wine, the process of learning grape growing and winemaking, and how they got to Oregon and what they found unique about it. The couple then go in to talk about their vision for their winery and the steps they took to get there, what they want consumers to take away from their wines, and how they decided what they wanted to do with their vineyards. They describe how they chose the name Bryn Mar, what is unique about the Oregon wine industry’s collaborative spirit, and how they are adapting to the current pandemic. Towards the end of the interview, they reflect on what they see for the future of their business and the industry, as well as some of the changes they’ve seen to the industry since they first entered.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bryn Mawr Vineyards on June 29, 2020.