Craig Loeliger & Keith Whisenhunt of TruthTeller Winery
Chris Loeliger took a rather circuitous route to winemaking in Woodinville. After growing up in Japan, he then studied aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado, spent time in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, and eventually followed his wife Dawn to Seattle. There he pursued many jobs, including electronics manufacturing, managing a brokerage office, real estate, and more. But he also began volunteering at various Woodinville wineries, and became hooked on the winemaking process. His engineering background gave him a love of creating things, and soon his passion became creating wine. He and Dawn had always loved drinking wine, and so they decided to start making their own wine and open a winery. Finding a name was a struggle, until they realized that the Swiss name Loeliger meant a village idiot, or truthteller, who could tell people anything, even the truth. They liked the story behind the name, and the idea that there is truth between each individual and wine in terms of what one tastes. They made their first vintage in 2014 and opened tasting room doors for TruthTeller Winery in 2016.
Keith grew up with Dawn and Chris, and is thrilled that he gets to make wine with his family. He became fascinated with fermenting things after seeing a documentary on beer making. He purchased a brewing kit the next day, and couldn’t believe he could make beer in his home. Chris and Keith both grew up around punsters, and you can see their fascination with all forms of humor in the tasting room, on the website and on the wine labels with names such as Quip, Repartee, and GobSMack’d. The wines are produced under two different brands: TruthTeller and TMP, or The Miscreant Project. The TMP wines are all $24 or less, and are some of the best wines you will find at that price. Hear about these brands and much more in this interview.
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