Owner/Sales & Marketing

Growing up in an Air Force family, Lisa has traveled the U.S. and the world, and in the process gained an appreciation of food and wine.  When her brother, Lance, and her father, Les, founded Baer winery in 2000, Lisa jumped in to offer her marketing background to help with the family’s new enterprise.

Following her brother’s passing in 2007, Lisa has been proud to help steward the signature blends first created by him — in addition to working with Baer’s current Consulting Winemaker, Erica Orr. The team develops new blends in keeping with the winery’s Bordeaux-influenced style, making the most of outstanding Royal Slope fruit sources. Although holding a degree in English Literature from the University of Washington, Lisa enjoys honing the skills learned at the side of her brother, to lend a hand during the busy harvest season and bottling. Lisa balances her current day job at a local Big Five tech company, with flying the flag for Baer wines in the tasting room, and managing marketing, distribution, and PR for the winery.

Owner/General Manager

Although he is officially retired for income tax purposes, Baer Winery represents Les’ third career. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and spent just over 20 years in the Air Force before retiring as a Lt. Col. During his service he did a tour in Viet Nam, flew jets, was stationed across the United States, and retired from military life after his final assignment in Canberra, Australia.  He entered civilian life, and moved the family to settle in Washington state where he started work at the Boeing Company.  Shortly before retiring from Boeing, Les joined Lance in founding Baer Winery in 2000.

Les puts his analytical mind to work handling all of the accounting and bookkeeping for the winery — as well as state licensing and compliance issues. He also keeps an active hand in each harvest and at bottling time.

When you visit the tasting room, you may see Les deep in thought solving his daily Sudoku, or planning his next trip with his wife, Gerry.

Consulting Winemaker

Erica Orr has worked in the wine industry since 1998.  Her first harvest was with Cathy Corison in the Napa Valley. That experience prompted Erica to enroll in the enology master’s degree program at UC Davis where she researched the indigenous yeast microflora in native chardonnay barrel fermentations. She completed her master’s degree in 2003.

In addition to her master’s degree from UC Davis, Erica’s scientific training includes a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from UC Berkeley and three years of research experience as a biochemistry lab technician for 2009 Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn at UC San Francisco.

As a San Francisco Bay Area native, she is passionate about food and wine, and dedicated to quality-oriented, thoughtful winemaking.

Assistant Winemaker

Paige began her career in the wine industry working harvest in 2001 and 2002 in the Willamette Valley.  After a career in the military spanning nearly two decades, she enrolled in the Wine Production degree program at NW Wine Academy in Seattle. Paige worked as a Harvest Intern at EFESTE in 2021 and brings her knowledge and passion to the Assistant Winemaker position at Baer Winery. As a Washington native, she has a deep appreciation for local food, wine, and the beautiful outdoors.

Manager

Born in sunny California and raised in an Air Force family, Kelin eventually made her way to the beautiful PNW, making it her home in the early 80’s. This is where she met her husband and grew her family with 3 amazing children.

Kelin entered the wine industry in 2015, but has been a connoisseur of wine since she can remember. So much so that she cooks with her wine and even experiments with recipes adding it to her food. Her favorite wine is a smooth Bordeaux-style blend. Kelin’s passion for wine and love of people has allowed her to connect, learn, and educate with so many over the years.

When Kelin’s not at work, you’ll probably find her cheering on one of her children at their sporting events. She’s a super mom and currently working on being at 3 places at once — we’ll let you know how that goes. On the off chance she has a break, you’ll instead find her in a quiet nook reading a book or listening to music relaxing.