Covington Cellars - Hill Country — Restaurant in Johnson City

If you haven’t stopped in to check out this winery, you will be surprised with this one. Owner’s David and Cindy Lawson are no strangers to winemaking. They have been making wines at their Washington location for 20 years. Cindy got her husband David interested in wine and their adventures have taken off since. Cindy is originally from Houston, moved to Seattle for another career before getting into the wine making world and establishing their home in San Antonio. Their Texas tasting room location has been opened since May ‘21. Morgan Lee heads up their winemaking facilities. Currently, they serve wines sourced from Washington grapes and a couple of Texas wines. The tasting room is elevated up about 1400 feet with a nearly 360-degree view of the Pedernales Valley. Inside the tasting room, it is spacious with vaulted ceilings and a modern country like décor. Tastings are done by flights. We chose both the mixed flight as well as the reserve flight. First up, was the 2020 Chardonnay. Sourced from Boushey Vineyard of the Yakima Valley AVA, this wine was aged mostly in neutral oak and exhibits a lighter style without a lot of oak in this one. Next, was the 2020 OG sourced from Olsen Vineyard of the Yakima Valley AVA. Abbreviated for ‘Orange Gewurztraminer’, this white wine had extended maceration on skins and has characteristics of a muscat like aroma and honeysuckle nose fooling you into thinking you are about to sip something sweet, but this is a very dry wine. The rest of the tastings were their reds. First was the 2015 Ode. Sourced from two different Washington vineyards, this Sangiovese was aged 3 years in barrel and 2 years in bottle. Call it a Brunello style wine if you’d like, it’s beautiful on the nose and palate with both richness and. Behold their 2019 Texas Tempranillio! Sourced from the Texas High Plains AVA, this 18-month aged beauty is a good go-to Texas Tempranillio. It’s light, with good acids, and has a lovely fruit forward sensation. The MaBelle label has been a favorite of Cindy’s. Made with 90% Grenache along with some Syrah and Cinsault, this GSM style blend is a great light fruity red wine to enjoy. Their 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is something special. Sourced from Discovery Vineyard of Washington state not only was it barrel fermented, but barrel aged too. With 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot added to this red wine, it’s enticing for those fruit forward red wine lovers. It has at least a decade or two aging potential, so load up and try every few years. The 2018 Syrah was sourced from 7 different Washington vineyards of Columbia Valley. A favorite of the winemaker Morgan, this bold beast is something to enjoy well with your favorite protein. We moved on to the 2019 Rio Ronde. The name refers to the Rio Grande in Texas as well as Washington’s Grande Rondo River. This 50/50 blend of Texas Tempranillo and Washington Syrah grapes has great aromatic fruit forward notes, well balanced, and a nice smooth finish. You will enjoy another one of the winemaker’s crafty creations called the Rough House. Named after Morgan’s naval unit, this 2018 vintage is made with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Zinfandel. It is fruity and jammy with a great finish. Lastly, was the 2016 Reserve Cabernet Franc. CF lovers, rejoice, for this red jewel was fermented in tinaja! Sourced from Discovery Vineyard, this flagship wine has an excellent silky feel, good tannins, and a lingering happy feel! Let’s also not forget that their culinary expert, Cheylan Harris, can help you out with some great pairings while you sip your glass of wine as well as make some great dish pairing suggestions. The owners plan to introduce more Texas wines to the menu yet continue to feature their Washington wines too. You might notice on your next visit that some plots near the tasting room have been prepped for a future vineyard. Look for Montepulciano vines for starters being planted this Spring with more to come. With the views, wine, and cool owners, you just might make this place your second...

Had the pleasure of visiting Covington winery on our trip to Fredericksburg this week. Really enjoyed the tasting room & view! Stephanie was our wine steward, very knowledgeable on the vineyard & grapes, and made our visit very memorable! But, the best part was the wines! We were presented with a tasting of their Field Blend, liked it so much we bought 2 bottles! We opted for both tastings so we could experience whites & reds. All of them were good and ended up buying bottles of Grenache Blanc & the 2018 Rough House. But, our absolute favorite was the Cabernet Sauvignon! While pricy at $95 for the bottle, quite possibly one of the better wines we’ve ever tasted. If you’re in the area, please stop by, you’ll be...

Excellent wine; excellent food; excellent service! Covington Cellars has excellent wine for all tastes of wine lovers! Well-balanced, fruit forward with silky tannins that leave a long-lasting finish! Reds, whites, rosés, and sparkling are all delish! Gorgeous vines and amazing panoramic views! One of our faves! A Covington Cellars stop should be on everyone’s itinerary. Cindy has put together an amazing and extremely knowledgeable staff: a huge thank you to Stephanie, Lauren, Pam, Lia, & Chef Briana! The dinners are incredible as well! Thank you Cindy & David, for always making us feel at home and like family! We will be members for life!...