For someone who grew up in a state with just nine wineries, it might come as a surprise that Fargo, North Dakota, native Carolyn Covington is now a certified level three wine educator with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and a WSET Diploma candidate. Better known to her 117,000 Instagram followers as American Wine Girl at @CarolynCoving, Covington has carved out a space for herself in the world of wine—one curated tasting, travel itinerary, and educational post at a time.
Her roots, though firmly planted today in the rolling hills of Keswick, began in agriculture of a different kind. Her father worked in land sales, helping farmers buy and sell property in the Midwest, but vineyards were far from her radar. It wasn’t until college that Covington first began to see wine not just as a beverage, but as a lens into culture and connection. While earning her business and marketing degree at the University of Minnesota, she spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy—an experience that would reshape her future.
It was there, among Tuscan hills and candlelit trattorias, that she had what she calls her “aha” wine moment. “I realized wine was more than just what’s in the glass,” Covington says. “It was history, geography, tradition. It was art.”
After returning to the U.S., she graduated and began her career in Los Angeles, where she worked in event design and marketing while navigating a long-distance relationship with her now-husband, who was living in Charlottesville. Each visit to see him pulled her further into the rhythms of central Virginia life—and deeper into its budding wine scene…