Our People
WineHaven was founded in 1995 by Kevin and Cheri Peterson, along with their sons Kyle and Troy. Cheri coordinates WineHaven's special events and Troy is the winery's tasting room manager. Kevin and Kyle Peterson are WineHaven's father-and-son winemaking team. Together, they have received more than 200 awards for winemaking excellence at New York and California wine competitions since the family opened WineHaven in 1995.
Kevin has been a commercial honey and fruit producer in the St. Croix River Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin for more than 40 years. He has built upon the traditional approach to winemaking that he learned from his father by studying winemaking at Purdue University. His winemaking philosophy recognizes that there is only one way to make great wine - with the finest fruit. Kevin's knowledge of fruit and honey production, and preference for gentle hand-harvesting techniques, enables him to produce the finest possible ingredients for WineHaven's wines.
Kyle believes that winemaking is not only an art, but also a science. He has worked closely with researchers at Cornell University to explore new winemaking techniques to maximize the color, aroma, and flavor components of grape and berry wines. This research has led to the winery's investment in state-of-the art equipment to complement various time honored techniques like barrel fermentation and aging. He has also crossbred several winter-hardy grape cultivars and is named as an inventor on a U.S. Patent for the 'Chisago' hybrid varietal.
Kyle has conducted numerous seminars on food and wine education and has been featured in WineMaker magazine as a national expert on wines produced from hybrid grapes. Kyle completed the Wine Executive Program at the University of California, Davis, and is a recipient of The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” award.
Ultimately, visitors to WineHaven can anticipate a friendly experience that is nurtured by an enthusiastic tasting room team. "We really try to project a warm, inviting atmosphere," says Troy, tasting room manager. "We treat guests as our family: we want them to enjoy an experience that they will remember for a lifetime. That's when we know that we've done our job."
