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 SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010 9:46 pm |
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Local News 
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Everett home winery halted Truckloads of grapes and the presence of a forklift prompted neighbors to complain. EVERETT — Wine aficionados Chris and Linnea Covington dreamed of starting a winery.Chris Covington, by all accounts an accomplished home wine-maker, wanted to bring his merlot to a wider audience. In September, the Everett couple got their liquor license for Covington Crest Winery. By mid-October, two flatbed trucks were delivering pallets of wine grapes for a barefoot crush in a giant vat and forklifts were moving supplies. The only problem: Covington Crest Winery is located at their north Everett home in the middle of a residential neighborhood. At least three neighbors complained to the city about the winery business. Officials filed a citation against the couple Oct. 19, which has put the winery at least temporarily out of operation. “It’s very painful,” Linnea Covington said. “When they asked us to shut down, we did everything they asked us to do.” The couple has both a state liquor license and an Everett city permit that allows them to produce up to 250,000 liters of wine — that’s upward of 300,000 bottles. Linnea Covington said they only made a small amount of wine, about several hundred bottles. Neighbors living near the Rucker Avenue home reported hearing machinery in the alleyway behind the home and seeing flatbed trucks making deliveries last month. Neighbor Susie Lopez said she heard forklifts operating in the mornings and often on the weekends in October. On her tree-lined street, the activity puzzled her. “Most homes don’t have forklifts,” she said. It’s illegal under city code for an industrial business to operate in a residential neighborhood, but the couple has a special permit that allows a wide range of commercial uses on residential property, Everett spokeswoman Kate Reardon said. As a condition of the permit, the winery can’t look like a business. That’s where the Covingtons tripped up. Equipment used for the business was being stored outside the home, according to the violation report. Linnea Covington said they had stacked some wine barrels in the back yard. The couple lives in a century-old historic house and the winery is operated out of a separate two-story building that faces a nearby alley. Chris Covington, a structural engineer, designed the space, she said. The couple just won a coveted award from the city, the Monte Cristo Award, which recognizes homes and businesses for their curb appeal. On Thursday, a flatbed trailer was parked on a pad behind a fence, but otherwise there was no sign, other than a very faint whiff of fermenting grapes, that a winery was located here. It’s been tough for the couple to hear that they were doing something they weren’t allowed to do, Linnea Covington said. They planned to give much of their wine to charity. Both are actively involved in Rotary and other civic organizations. They recently hosted a National Night Out event at a nearby business that included tastes of their wine. She said any noise the operation might have caused was short lived and nothing in comparison to construction noise coming from the nearby hospital expansion. After the delivery of two flatbed truckloads of merlot, cabernet and pinot grapes in October, the wine is now in barrels and just needs to age, she said. She’s not sure if they’ll continue operations in the future. A city hearing on the matter is scheduled for Dec. 17. There are no state laws against operating a winery in a residential neighborhood, said Anne Radford of the Washington State Liquor Control Board. She said the board learned Monday the city had placed a stop order on the winery. The board had no plans to rescind the winery’s license, she said. The Covingtons just want to go back to making wine. “We could give so much to this economy,” she said. Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com. |
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COMMENTS
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I was beginning to wonder when big brother would step in and quash the ability of the little guy to get a foothold in any market. Though I understand the neighbors opposition, I hope the Covingtons can work things out and get back to their passion.
CC At the Big B | Nov 20, 2009 6:46 am | 1 replies | Request removal
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I was/am the realtor who was involved in the sale of The Covingtons beautiful home. The owner before them sold the home she loved to find a better home to move in and take care of her elderly mother. The home was very nice with nice live-in space, but needed some updating.There was no building for a garage, only a very dangerous lean-to building that needed lots of work. I wouldn't even walk in. But Chris has his own very successful business as a structural engineer. Chris had plans to fix up the back yard and the poor unsafe condition of the lean-to building into a garage. He did a beautiful job,and was proud to show it off to me. Life went on for them. As time went by I have become one of their very best friends with realtor knowledge. Many times they have called be about fixing up a porch, or the front of their home. I have had many a lunch and dinners out with them. I can't ever remember them ordering a wine let alone speak with them about a winery. We drank mostly Ice tea or coffee. After over a decade of owning their home their interest changed. They did not become wine experts over night. It took them years of study. I know for a fact that they did not get any special treatment when applying for their permits and licenses.You PJ are somehow suggesting that the license board is doing illegal acts, with no proof from you just your accusations. And while we are setting the record. The whole neighbor is not upset with the Covingtons. Only you and one sad neighbor who finds the Covingtons and her other neighbors breathing is bothersome to her. And has complained about the most ridiculous things her neighbors do. But still the Covingtons have tried to please her. The poor soul has become the laughing stock of the neighborhood.So PJ you have no real provable facts and have tried to spread these malicious and false accusations. Please be careful in the future. With what the crime rate is we really need all or neighbors to help protect one another. Thank you.
Star Healer | Nov 30, 2009 12:37 am | Request removal
Being part of a neighborhood means just that... being involved with those that might be impacted by your actions. Perhaps if the Covingtons had communicated with those around them regarding their intentions, who knows, maybe the neighborhood would not have reacted the way it did. Apparently they knew their intentions when they built the "structure on the alley" (garage) that was supposed to be for their RV in the beginning. It received special variances too I believe. From the outside, without communication, it looks as if special treatment is being given because, as they say, know this person and that person... Also will it draw more crime into the area if the kids figure out they have liquor in a garage? So maybe if it were handled differently... I don't know. For now it leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
P J | Nov 25, 2009 12:51 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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Being the owner/operator of a small winery in a residential area, I'm very familiar with the activities of the Covingtons. Their temporary outdoor activities occur for a very short duration in the fall when the grapes are harvested. For the vast majority of the remainder of the year, the wines rest quietly in barrels inside the winery. Message to the neighbors - it's a small sandbox, folks. Let's all find a way to get along together. How about this suggestion - go to the Covingtons, and volunteer to help them with their winemaking. You will experience the passion they have for their chosen venture, and you might just find a new appreciation for the hard work it takes to bring a bottle of wine into life. Play nice! Try it - you'll like it.
John Bell | Nov 22, 2009 8:32 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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having been fortuante enough to have been able to help the Covington's with some of their wine making, it's hard to read the article with it's misrepresentations and not say someting. The forklift the neighbor complains about is a small electric (quiet) model, the delivery truck(s) is the Covington's pickup truck with a flatbed trailer and i can't imagine anyone wanting to put their bare feet into the 18 x 30 inch hopper on their electric grape crusher. The noisiest thing there was the power washer used to clean up when done. We worked from 9am to 6pm and at no time were the roads or alley's blocked, everything was contained on the Covington's property. The Covington's are an extremely giving and caring couple who are an asset to any community they are involved in.
tom rupert | Nov 20, 2009 5:44 pm | 1 replies | Request removal
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sounds like you folks over there have a playa hater. Some one with a failed business who will be damed they never did squat with there lives.
Mike Flavin | Nov 20, 2009 10:30 pm | Request removal