by David Hirning - Special to the SGN

Considering the subject, it's no surprise that when winemakers need a word that captures how the land itself influences the fruits of their labor, they turn to French: terroir.

According to the online glossary of the publication Wine Spectator, the word alludes to 'the interaction of soil, climate, topography, and grape variety in a specific site, imprinting the wine and making each wine from a specific site distinct.'

Ellensburg vineyard owner and winemaker Gary Cox has a simpler definition of the word: 'uniqueness of place.'

It is in celebration of that uniqueness that Cox and eight other family-owned Washington wineries will serve their handcrafted products at the Spring 2013 Best of the Northwest art and fine craft show. The festival - which showcases the work of more than 140 artists along with local food, wine, beer, and cider - will take place March 23-24 at Smith Cove Cruise Terminal on Seattle's Pier 91.

DRINK LOCAL
March is Washington Wine Month, and Best of the Northwest gets into the spirit by featuring small, boutique wineries that truly represent the local connection that this growing industry embodies. There are lots of other wine events, including the giant Taste Washington at CenturyLink Field Event Center, but most lack the personal touch. And tickets to BON are also much more reasonable ($7 per day, versus $80 for Taste Washington).

Cox, who owns and operates both Cox Canyon Vineyards and Ellensburg Canyon Vista Winery, isn't just paying lip service to the importance of the physical environment to his business and passion. The 60-year-old holds a master's degree in agronomy and soils from Washington State University and literally enjoys the dirtiest part of his job. 'If I don't have soil under my fingers, I don't feel right,' he says.

The winemaker/scientist's connection to the soils of Eastern Washington goes back more than three decades. After finishing his degree at WSU in the late 1970s, Cox was hired on at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to deal with the problem of radioactive tumbleweeds. He helped lead efforts to replant the land with native grasses that wouldn't spread the harmful waste around as much.

SEEING THE COUGAR
Later Cox moved to California and worked in the defense industry, but layoffs in the late 1990s hastened his plans to move back to his roots, so to speak. That's when he and his wife, Suzy, found the property that would become Cox Canyon Vineyards in the rolling hills just south of Ellensburg. Cox, a past president of the Yakima Cougar Club (a WSU booster group), said he knew it was the right place when he noticed how the hills above the property formed the outline of a cougar's face.

After a decade growing grapes for other Washington wineries, Cox took the plunge and opened his own winemaking operation three years ago. 'I thought I was going to make money selling the grapes, but I learned that there's more money to be made in the combination of growing the fruit and making the wine,' he said.

The types and taste of the wines he produces - lighter, more fruit-forward, and slightly lower in alcohol - are directly related to the particulars of the land the winery sits on, according to Cox.

'We have a cooler site up here in Ellensburg Canyon compared to other parts of the region, so you have to pick your grape [varieties] based on a certain amount of heat units,' he explained. 'Some varieties of grapes take more [heat]; some take less. We started with Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Syrah, but we've transitioned - now it's Cab Franc, a little Malbec, and three different clones of Riesling. I think that's going to be our best grape.'

SEEDING THE FUTURE
Cox is not only a part of the current generation of Washington winemakers - responsible for one of the state's roughly 350 vineyards and 750 wineries - but he's also helping train the next. For the past seven years, Cox has served as an instructor of Vineyard and Winery Technology at Yakima Valley Community College (YVCC). He sees educational programs like that one, and another based at WSU, as playing an important role in nurturing the unique Washington wine industry (that terroir again).

'Years ago, everyone on the West Coast was going to [UC] Davis for their wine program,' Cox noted. 'The problem is that California is nothing like Washington - they have a completely different climate. I could see going to UC Davis wasn't going to do me any good. But teaching at the YVCC viticulture/enology program has been really fulfilling. I've learned a lot.'

Cox still maintains his 'day job' as an environmental compliance officer at Hanford, and as a result of that and his teaching commitments, his winemaking operation remains small, producing only 350 to 400 cases per year. The size of his business is one reason he enjoys doing smaller wine events like Best of the Northwest.

'The big shows are fine, but I like these kinds of events,' Cox said. 'We're a small, family-owned business, and the emphasis is on quality of a different kind - small production lots, very hands-on. It's a lot different from Chateau Ste. Michelle and other places.'

ONE-STOP SIPPING
In addition to Cox's Ellensburg Canyon Vista Winery, the Best of the Northwest show will be pouring wines from Bunnell Family Cellars, Frenchman Hills Winery, Michael Florentino Cellars, Queen Anne Winery, Stina's Cellars, Stomani Cellars & Winery, Willis Hall Winery, and Wilridge Winery.

The spring 2013 Best of the Northwest art and fine craft show will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 24. Tickets are $6 online and $7 at the event (wine, other beverages, and food will be available for purchase a la carte at the show). For more information and to purchase tickets online, go to www.nwartalliance.com/bestnw/.

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