Alums Blend Love for Wine and Michigan for New Scholarship
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Photos Courtesy of Susan and Bill Braymer
Susan Braymer, ’84, was studying in the arboretum on an unexpectedly warm April Saturday when her now-husband came up to her to say hello.
“I went to the Arb, and I saw that she was studying calculus, and I said, ‘That’s the girl for me,’” Bill Braymer, ’82, MS’84, recalls.
The engineering students’ first date was at Good Time Charley’s, and the next day they went roller skating. Though the semester ended soon after, they stayed in touch over the summer, reconnected once back on campus, and Susan says they’ve “been together ever since.”
Wine and food quickly became a staple in their relationship. One of the first bottles Susan and Bill remember sharing in Ann Arbor was a relatively cheap bottle of Mateus rosé, picked up alongside a slice of Cottage Inn pizza.
“That was a big Friday night, you know — a $4 Cottage Inn pizza and a bottle of wine,” Bill says. “But that’s the way it was in 1982.”
What began as a social interest — as well as a lubricant for social situations, as Susan calls it — is now a central part of their lives, as Susan and Bill Braymer own Laurentide Winery, a boutique winery in Lake Leelanau in northern Michigan. For nearly 20 years, the Braymers have been planting grape varieties, fine-tuning award-winning bottles, and introducing Michigan wine to locals and worldly drinkers alike.
Michigan Soil
After graduating from U-M, the Braymers followed career opportunities and lived in California three times: a brief stint in Los Angeles for a summer job and 20 years in northern California, split up by a move to Wisconsin where they realized the state’s tragic flaw: “it was really cold in Wisconsin and they couldn’t grow grapes,” Bill says.
Wine continued to be a significant part of Susan and Bill’s life in California, as they took innumerable trips to well- and little-known wineries and made new friends over open bottles and evening tastings.
When their daughter, Calla, was born, Susan decided to stay home with her but continued her education by taking courses in wine production. Susan and Bill began growing grapes on their own. The couple explored purchasing property for a winery in California, but a consultant warned them of the growing fire risk and, in 2003, they realized their grapes weren’t going to produce.
Bill Braymer grew up in Michigan and the couple frequently vacationed near Leelanau, though they’d mostly dismissed Michigan wines — as was Michigan’s wine-making reputation at the time. When they couldn’t take a boat out on a rainy vacation day, it was recommended they try wine tasting in the area. They quickly realized what wine makers in the region had as well: the Leelanau peninsula provided a prime terroir for cold climate wines.
Now, introducing people to great Michigan wine is one of their favorite parts of owning a winery.
“My favorite part is seeing a person trying our wine and go, ‘Wow, this is really good,’ and saying, ‘I’m going to share this with my friends who think Napa Valley is the only place that makes wine in the world,” Bill says.
For Susan, the best part is explaining the history of the region. Their tasting room is outfitted with the words “wine is history” and maps of the Laurentide glacier that shaped the region — and inspired the winery’s name — adorn the walls.
“We get to explain that story hundreds and hundreds of times,” Susan Braymer says. “That’s a huge, huge thing for us, the meaning of our winery. We could have named it Braymer Vineyards, but we chose to name it Laurentide.”
Passing the Bottle
The Laurentide Vineyard began growing grapes in 2006 and the tasting room opened in 2012, primarily run by Susan while Bill concurrently continued his engineering career in Ann Arbor, commuting regularly up north. They stayed connected to the University because of the impact it made on them.
“It was a life-changing experience. It truly was,” Susan says. “I really learned so much at the school, with the people that were there. The people made a huge difference. It was absolutely formative, there’s no other word for it.”
This fall, Laurentide wine will be served in the Big House. Bill and Susan’s ‘aMaizing red’ and ‘aMaizing white’ wines, along with five others, will be available during home football games. A portion of the profits will go to the newly established William K. and Susan M. Braymer Engineering Scholarship to support undergraduate student-athletes at the College of Engineering.
Bill Braymer says the “positive, forward-moving ethos” of the University is what makes them want to give back.
“It’s the pluralistic nature of the University and the caliber of the work and the purpose of the work. It’s very open-minded, what they decide to pursue,” he says. “It’s a research university, and it has a huge impact in the world.”
As they do in Lake Leelanau, the Braymers are thrilled to introduce their Michigan-grown wines to more Michiganders and U-M alumni — they agree there’s always been “something special” about sharing food and wine with friends.
“It goes all the way back to Cottage Inn and rosé,” Bill says.
Katherine Fiorillo is the senior editor of Michigan Alum.
