Their 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.

Unfortunately a year and a half later, in June of 2015, Julie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 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.