He left real estate.
Taught himself to make wine.
Built something rare.
Bart Fawbush didn't inherit a vineyard or train under a master. He figured it out and built Bartholomew Winery around the grapes everyone else ignores. He's CoVintner's founding partner because his philosophy and ours are identical: wine is better when more people are part of making it, and it doesn't need a velvet rope.
Artisan Village, Kennewick
Small-Lot Production
Bart Fawbush
Winemaker · Bartholomew Winery
"From overlooked grapes to unforgettable sips, every bottle tells a story worth tasting."
Bart Fawbush, Bartholomew Winery
He didn't grow up
in a vineyard.
That's exactly the point.
Bart Fawbush spent years in the mortgage industry before a different kind of interest took hold: wine. Most people with that fascination never act on it. He did. He taught himself to make it. And he built a winery around a simple, stubborn idea: the grapes that everyone ignores are often the most interesting ones in the room.
At Bartholomew Winery, you won't find a wall of Cabernet Sauvignon. You'll find Carménère, Tannat, Sagrantino, Malvasia Bianca. These are names that make sommelier-types raise their eyebrows and everyone else lean in with curiosity. Rare varietals, made with care, in small lots, at a price point that doesn't require an expense account.
WA State
in Portfolio
Winemaking
Bart is based at Columbia Gardens Artisan Village in Kennewick, WA, with a second tasting room in Walla Walla. Both are rooted in the Eastern Washington wine country that produces some of the most underrated fruit in the country. He isn't trying to compete with Napa. He's doing something different.
Bartholomew Winery is CoVintner's founding partner for one straightforward reason: Bart holds the same belief we do. Wine is more interesting when more people are part of making it, and it doesn't need to come with a velvet rope.
Two brands.
One barrel.
Built for this.
Every piece of this partnership was chosen deliberately: the winery, the varietal, the venue, the structure. Here's why it works.
Aligned from the start.
Bart's founding belief: the best wine doesn't need pretension. That's CoVintner's founding belief too. When we say "no expertise required," Bart lives it. He learned to make wine by doing it, not by pedigree. That shared starting point isn't a talking point. It shapes every decision we make together.
The right varietal for the story.
Carménère is rare, misunderstood, and genuinely fascinating. It's exactly the kind of wine Bart has built his identity around. Barrel 1 isn't a safe first pick. It's a statement about what participatory winemaking should feel like: something worth having a real opinion about.
A real place, not a rented room.
Sessions happen at Columbia Gardens Artisan Village in Kennewick, WA. It's a genuine Eastern Washington destination, not a generic event space. The tasting room, the craft community, the Columbia River backdrop: these aren't set dressing. They're what makes the experience worth the drive from Spokane, Boise, Seattle, or Portland.
Built for trust, not convenience.
Bartholomew Winery is the licensed Seller of Record for all wine. That's a legal requirement, and we honor it with a fully transparent two-part purchase structure. CoVintner handles the experience side; the winery handles the wine transaction. We built the separation in from day one so participants never have to wonder who owns what.
Small lots mean your vote counts.
Bart's small-lot approach means there's no industrial pipeline to override the community's direction. When the vote comes in, the blend reflects it. This isn't participatory in name only. The decisions made in the blending room actually determine what goes in the bottle. That's only possible with a winemaker who works at this scale.
Founding partners. Not a licensing deal.
This is Barrel 1, Chapter 1. Bart and CoVintner are building this together from zero: shared risk, shared upside, shared belief in what we're making. The relationship isn't transactional. It's a co-creation, which is exactly the kind of experience we invite participants into.
Five kinds of people who belong here.
A date night
with a story attached.
You've done the wine tastings.
You want something with more to it.
You want an afternoon that's still worth talking about a year later. Not stuffy, not a lecture.
The Founding Circle gives you that. A shared session with Bart, a vote you cast together, and a bottle with both your names on the label.
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Blending sessions at Columbia Gardens, elevated but not stuffy
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The full arc: session, vote, personalized label, release party
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Bart's story gives the experience real weight. This is actual winemaking, not a performance.
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Couple and group tiers available; private session upgrades for special occasions
You're always the one
who finds it first.
You're not just after a great night out.
You want to be the one who found it.
The friend-group planner. The one who texts the group chat with ideas. You're motivated by being the person who brought everyone to this one.
The Guild and Barrel Patron tiers were built for you. Private sessions with Bart, group pricing, and a founding story your crew will be talking about at every pour from here on.
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Guild tier: groups of 5 to 10, private blending session with Bart Fawbush
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Barrel Patron: 2 to 4 people, private experience, highest bottle allocation
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Shareable moments built in: the label reveal, vote results, release party
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This is Barrel 1. There's only ever one of those.
Interested in wine.
Not interested in wine culture.
You find wine genuinely interesting.
You're tired of rooms that assume you don't.
You don't need a course. You don't want a lecture. You just want an experience built for people who are curious, not already credentialed.
Bart learned by doing, not by pedigree. Carménère is the kind of grape that makes curious people lean in. The sessions are guided, not tested.
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No expertise needed. Bart's own story proves it.
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Carménère: a rare, deeply-flavored red most people have never tasted
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Guided tastings built for discovery, not evaluation
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This isn't your grandmother's wine club
There's only ever
one Barrel 1.
You follow things early.
You like knowing you were there first.
Founding Circle isn't a discount. It's a timestamp. You were here for Barrel 1 with Bartholomew Winery, and there is only ever one of those.
The Architect tier was made for exactly this: Founding Barrel card, signed bottle, private Q&A with Bart, and a credit toward Founding Season 26 that marks you as first.
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Numbered Founding Barrel card: a physical record of being here first
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Inaugural Campaign Credit toward Season 26 ($100 to $275 by tier)
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There is only one Barrel 1. This is it.
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Private Q&A with Bart Fawbush at the Architect tier
Eastern Washington
wine country, up close.
For locals, this is your backyard.
For everyone else, it's worth the trip.
Tri-Cities residents: this is happening right here. Visitors from Spokane, Yakima, Boise, Seattle, or Portland: this is what Eastern Washington winemaking actually looks like from the inside.
Columbia Gardens Artisan Village isn't a backdrop. It's a real place with real craft roots. The session with Bart is the main event, not a stop on a tasting loop.
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Kennewick sessions at Columbia Gardens Artisan Village
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Worth the drive from Spokane, Boise, Yakima, Seattle, Portland
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Second tasting room in Walla Walla for visitors coming from that direction
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Eastern Washington fruit, Eastern Washington winemaker, Eastern Washington story
From barrel to bottle.
Five steps from enrollment to your release party. Here's the full arc.
Ready to join the barrel?
There's only ever one first.
This is Barrel 1 with Bartholomew Winery. The founding seats are limited. Once they're gone, Barrel 1 is closed.
21+ only · Wine sold by Bartholomew Winery, licensed Seller of Record · CoVintner fee is a separate services transaction