David & Laura Comer
Autumn Creek Vineyards is a working vineyard nestled in the beautiful, rolling countryside of Rockingham County. It is also the home to Gioia dell’Amore Cellars, which is an operating winery and tasting room.
Owners, David and Laura Comer, adore the playful romance of their marital relationship. They found their romance shined brightly when visiting wineries and vineyards and ultimately, they purchased one! They are enthusiastic about celebrating the joy of each bridal couple’s love and have selected teammates who embrace their “Scatter Joy!” philosophy.
The property radiates an elegantly rustic vibe and consists of several indoor and outdoor sites for couples to choose from. There are fantastic backdrops in every direction, giving your photographers unique opportunities to capture the magic of your most special day!
We are a local vineyard and winery owned by David and Laura Comer, born from a joint vision between two sisters, Julie and Laura, and their husbands, Dave and David, to share a love and appreciation of wine.
Our name “Gioia dell’Amore” is Italian, and translates to “The Joy of Love”.
Our story began one evening in 2013, eldest sister Julie and her husband Dave were visiting Laura and David. While sitting around drinking red wine together, the conversation turned to the next careers.
Julie mentioned that her dream was to open a winery in a developing country where people needed a means to support themselves and to expand her ministry to others in the process. The group concluded that amongst the group there was the skill set to support such a venture. For Christmas that year, Laura gifted everyone home winemaking kits to try out the process. All four enjoyed experimenting in winemaking and began to dream about opening a winery together.
Unfortunately a year and a half later, in June of 2015, Julie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Although she lived in Kansas, she moved in with Laura and David in the Houston area for most of the next year while under treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
While living together, the couples began discussing making the dream a reality. With her diagnosis, Julie conceded that being overseas and away from family was no longer her desire and the team concluded they should chase the dream at home. Between chemotherapy treatments, Julie, Laura, and David began wine assessment studies at the The Texas Wine School in Houston. While sitting around the kitchen table, big sister/little sister debates about the name of the future winery ensued. Laura started the discussion offering “Joie de le Vie” (French for “the joy of life”). Julie responded that she preferred Italian wines and the family-oriented culture of Italy. The phrase “joy of life” translated in Italian to “Gioia diVita” which sounded too harsh and lacked the romantic playfulness they were looking for. Julie then suggested “Amore Perfecto”, but they agreed over laughter that there is no such thing as perfect love. The sisters came to an agreement on “Gioia dell’Amore,” Italian for “the joy of love.” Sadly, Julie lost her battle with cancer 13 months following her diagnosis. Several years after Julie’s passing, Laura and David pursued a winemaking education at Texas Tech University and began to search for a winery home. When they found Autumn Creek Vineyards in 2020, they knew this was the place to pursue the two couples’ dream in Julie’s honor. The couple purchased the property in September of 2021 and Gioia dell’Amore Cellars at Autumn Creek Vineyards was born and officially renamed on Julie’s Birthday on June 29, 2022.
