Thad Cox Jr./Special to the News Sentinel

Special to the News Sentinel

Sparkman Cellar's Ruby Leigh, a fine wine produced by former Knoxvillian Chris Sparkman.

Thad Cox Jr./Special to the News Sentinel

Special to the News Sentinel

Thad Cox Jr. dines at Waterfront Seafood Grill in Seattle, after touring wineries in Washington and Oregon.

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Postcard from Reader: Oregon and Washington's wine country

"I can't wait to go back. I definitely want to spend more time exploring," says Thad Cox Jr., proprietor of Ashe's Wine and Spirits of Knoxville. He recently made his first tasting tour through the wine country of Washington and Oregon and came home with a great appreciation for this emerging grape region.

"It's a relatively new region when you compare it to Napa Valley or Sonoma," he says. "It got a later start than a lot of the California regions. Growers have learned in a much quicker manner where vineyard sites should be," he says.

Ken Wright, one of the top winemakers of Oregon's Willamette Valley, gave Cox a quick lesson in site locations. "Most vineyards have southern exposure and will be on hillsides 250- to 700-feet in elevation. Anything below or higher will be too cool or too hot," says Cox. In Napa, vineyards cover the valley floor.

Cox discovered another difference between the two productive wine areas. "The Willamette Valley is not flashy. You don't see a lot of high-end, big mansions like you see in Napa. Here it's much more a down-to-earth community with pickup trucks and small farms." Ken Wright Cellars, a pinot noir winery, is in Carlton, a town with two traffic lights. "The valley's cool climate is well-matched to the early ripening Pinot family of grapes," relates Cox.

About 300 wineries blanket this large valley near Portland, Ore. Cox also made a stop at Beaux Freres Vineyard and Winery, located on a land tract once used as a pig farm. The King Estate Winery southwest of Eugene, a total organic farming operation, features a restaurant where chefs prepare fruits and vegetables fresh from the land.

In the state of Washington, Cox visited Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, a community north of Seattle. He also re-connected with Chris Sparkman, formerly of Knoxville. They met at Seattle's Waterfront Seafood Grill, where Sparkman is general manager. Cox spent the meal learning about Sparkman's venture into wine-making. Opened in 2004, the family-operated Sparkman Cellars has earned much praise from wine critics.

Linda Lange may be reached at 865-342-6433. She is travel editor of the News Sentinel, and her blog, Explore, is at www.knoxnews.com/travel.

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