Yesterday we ventured over the hill to Woodinville for a Saturday jaunt through the warehouse wineries and were excited to come upon Covington Cellars.  I had read about their commitment to donating a portion of sales back to various charities associated with the armed forces, and was excited to give their wines a try.

As we left the warehouse asphalt parking lot and entered the warm tasting room, we were greeted by the  friendly year old winery black lab, Lola – in my book, this is always a good sign that you have found a place that is more friendly than pretentious. The wine maker and owner, David Lawson, greeted us next and spent about an hour telling us about his passion, the Covington wines, tips for the home winemaker, and giving us a tour of the facility.

All of the wines were very good (including a sneak peek of a yet released red), but our wine of the week is their 2005 Rough House Red, “A Tribute to Those Who Serve.”  A Bordeaux style blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot with an American Oak twist, was quite good and very well balanced.  Only 110 cases of this wine was produced, so you know the focus is on quality and not quantity.

We came home with a bottle of this to open up later and share with friends. We’ll definitely be back to visit with David and Cindy and the good folks at Covington.