Marty Taucher & Chris Peterson of Avennia Winery and Liminal Wines
Given Marty Taucher’s business and marketing experience and Chris Peterson’s winemaking expertise, the two turned out to be the perfect team for starting a winery. They met in 2009 at DeLille Cellars where Chris was winemaker, and Marty was a crush intern who had created a winery business plan for one of his classes. After months of working together and sharing lots of wine, the plan turned into their Avennia Winery that bottled its first wines in 2010. Inspired by old world wines, Chris uses traditional winemaking techniques and sources from premier Washington vineyards, especially those with old vines. In 2021, Marty and Chris purchased their own old vines that were formerly Tapteil Vineyard on Red Mountain. They now have the original tasting room in Woodinville and an estate tasting room, complete with guest house, on Red Mountain where visitors can taste Avennia Bordeaux and Rhone style wines.
In 2018, a drive around the Red Mountain area led to a new partnership and brand that is helping to chart the future of Washington winegrowing. A former colleague of Marty’s at Microsoft, Cameron Myhrvold, had purchased land for a vineyard on the top and north face of Red Mountain. He hired expert viticulturalist Ryan Johnson to create the vineyard that was just starting to bear fruit at the time Marty and Chris were driving around. The uniqueness of this Weather Eye Vineyard impressed them so much, that they eventually talked with Cam and Ryan about partnering on a new brand devoted exclusively to the finest blocks at Weather Eye Vineyard. Liminal Wine was born. The 2018 inaugural Liminal wines were so stellar, that Sean Sullivan named Liminal Wine his 2020 Washington Winery of the Year. With the Avennia and Liminal brands, Marty and Chris are helping to chart the future of Washington wine, as we discuss in this interview.
Listen to the Interview: