Bailey Mayer: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Bailey Mayer of Proteus Wines. In this interview, Bailey talks about how he ended up owning a vineyard in Oregon and what he has learned in the process.Bailey shares about growing up in Colorado and attending the University of Colorado in Boulder to get a degree in finance and accounting. Shortly after, he moved to Philadelphia and worked in bank regulatory compliance for 20 years. It was in Philadelphia that he met his husband, Jerry, after joining a swim league.Bailey was introduced to wine by a sommelier friend, and he and Jerry focused many of their vacations around which wine regions they wanted to visit and learn about. Though they both worked office jobs in Philadelphia, they dreamed of moving to Oregon and joining the wine industry.Later in the interview, Bailey talks about finally moving to Oregon after his husband passed away. While he wasn’t looking for a vineyard property, his real estate agent showed him the Proteus Wines property, and he fell in love. He got straight to work developing a 4-year plan to expand and boost the brand. He also created a wine to honor his late husband and donates the proceeds from that wine to epilepsy research.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Proteus Wines in Newberg on August 7, 2025.