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Christina Kelly,
Avalon Wine Senior Editor

Christina Kelly spent the first half of her career as a journalist for daily newspapers and magazines. She left daily journalism to work in corporate marketing/communications, but as a passionate wine enthusiast, she continues to write about the Northwest wine industry (since 1997) for many national publications.

Christina is a multiple fellowship winner to the Professional Wine Writers Symposium in Napa, including 2012. Christina has written for Avalonwine.com for the past 12 years. She can be reached at winewriter@comcast.net.

Jean Yates
Avalon Wine Owner

Jean first worked with the Oregon wine industry in 1989, when she helped develop marketing brochures for wineries in the South Willamette. She then started Avalon, and has supported the industry through her wine shop and web site ever since. Jean enjoys promoting Oregon and Washington wines and bringing Northwest wines to the notice of the wine-loving public across the country. She previously worked in high tech marketing and research in Silicon Valley.

Jean built and continually updates the Avalon web site, writes our Wine Club Newsletter, numerous e-mail articles on NW wine, and articles for the web site. Her twenty five years of experience working with NW wineries and winemakers gives Avalon a deep knowledge of the industry. She's judged NW wine at various competitions since 1997. Jean's favorite activity is photography, and many of the images on the Avalon web site are hers. She's from NC via Palo Alto, and lives in the South Willamette wine country.

January 16, 2010, at 10:16 am

What’s with dinner this weekend?

As a guy who thinks about food most waking hours, it’s common for me to start planning the weekend’s food and wine on Monday afternoon.  This past week has been much busier than normal, so the planning starts now, with wine!

For salmon and sipping: Grochau Cellars Commuter Pinot noir 08 $15.75

One of the steals of the year, the GC Commuter 08 disappeared in hours when it was first released.  The winery let go of a few more cases, so I grabbed 10.  Great fruit and great value, the Commuter has plethora of cherry flavors and a nice amount of zip.  A $25 Pinot, minus the ten…

monchiero-logo-275For Italian: Monchiero Barbera d’Alba Superiore 07 $14.95

Nearly half the wine we drink at home is Italian, with a noticeable slant towards Piedmont.  Barbera is a perfect food wine – the Monchiero is shockingly good for the price.  Earthy black fruits and leather with violets and graphite, this Barbera is our new “house” wine.

And stepping it up a notch:  Monchiero’s 2005 Barolo “Rocche” $47.95 is exceptional.  Classic Barolo filled with licorice, tar, roses, brown spices, massive fruit and grippy tannins.  We tend to drink Barolo way too young, so we’ll be cellaring two bottles for every one we drink.  The 05 Barolo vintage is spectacular; the Rocche vineyard one of Barolo’s finest.

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