John is Chris’s right-hand man in the cellar. He first developed a love of wine around the family table over a meal of roasted leg of lamb paired with Washington Syrahs and Côte-Rotie. His interest in winemaking grew during a trip to Walla Walla with a group of friends. He is a 2015 graduate of the Walla Walla Community College Winemaking program where he interned full time for 2 years at Dunham Cellars. When John is not at the winery racking barrels, cleaning tanks, or running a crush crew, he is a backpacking and hiking fiend, loves home cooking, and spending time with his wife and dog.
After studying theatre at the UW, Kristen spent 15 years living and traveling in Europe, working as a cultural tour guide and guidebook editor for travel star Rick Steves. She spent 5 years in Paris, where she met and later married her husband. With the arrival of their daughter, she left her professional suitcase behind and looked to pursue another passion: wine. Like Marty, she attended the Seattle hands-on wine school, Northwest Wine Academy, and worked as a cellar intern for us in 2014. She returned to Avennia in 2015 to run all of our direct-to-consumer and tasting room programs. Kristen knows nothing of sports teams or golf, but the cellar team tolerates her anyway.
Andrew joined our team in December of 2016 to help us to open and operate our first tasting room. His passion for wine started when he and his future wife explored Yakima Valley tasting rooms. Together, they decided to take a leap of faith and move to Napa Valley in 2011 where he managed a high end winery. They moved to Walla Walla in 2013 where he helped to open a brand new tasting room, and eventually took a management position in hospitality at legendary winery Woodward Canyon. He spends his free time with his wife, son, and toddler daughter, enjoys the outdoors and an occasional round of golf. A favorite evening is spent with fresh salmon and Rosé on the patio.
After Studying Management at the City and Guilds of London Institute, Gary followed his childhood dream of Motor Racing. A Graduate of the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School and a brief spell racing in Europe, his parents politely suggested he should consider a new career. A passion for wine took Gary back to school. He attended WSET taking the levels 2&3 gaining distinctions. With a Master Sommelier as a mentor, Gary then enrolled with the Court of Master Sommeliers achieving Certified Sommelier. He has also a Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators. Having various roles from Beverage manager to European Wine Director a promotion in 2012 moved Gary to America. He continues his WSET diploma studies and completed a cellar internship in Virginia. At the start of 2017 Gary joined Avennia to improve his English.
Originally from Castleton, Vermont, Eli started his career in music, studying opera at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He performed throughout the country for five years after graduating in 2008. Like many in the arts world, when not performing, he worked in the restaurant business, eventually landing at Balthazar in lower Manhattan. Eli and his wife Shelly relocated to Seattle in 2013, where his professional interest in the wine business blossomed. He worked for Heavy Restaurant Group as a server, bartender, sommelier and later Assistant General Manager at Purple Café and Wine Bar. He then worked as a roaming manager for the entire company and this spring, helped open Claret Wine Bar in Wallingford. He passed the Advanced Sommelier certification on the first try last year and will continue to work towards his Master Sommelier certification. And in the fine tradition of most of our team at Avennia, Eli was our harvest intern for crush in 2017. When he’s not selling wine or studying flashcards, you can find him walking around the parks of West Seattle, cooking with his wife, or practicing piano, just in case Marty asks him to play some jazz music.
After 13 years as an elementary school teacher, Allison sought a life change which took her to Bordeaux, France, to pursue an interest in wine. She enrolled in an intensive wine studies program, receiving a “Conseillère en Sommellerie” (wine consultant) diploma. Upon return to Washington, Allison began working in the Avennia tasting room, where she quickly learned how lucky she was to make her start in the wine industry with such a highly regarded winery. Allison has since continued her wine studies, earning her WSET 3 certification in March 2019. She hopes to begin studying for the diploma level soon. In her spare time, Allison enjoys running and training for the occasional half or full marathon, traveling, and sharing a nice bottle or two among friends.