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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.

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February 26, 2010, at 3:23 pm

Beaux Freres 2008

By Jean Yates Avalon Wine, on February 26th, 2010

beauxfreresMIKE-200pThe reason I’m so fascinated with Mike Etzel and his winery, Beaux Freres, is that I identify with him. We’ve both stayed with the same jobs, season after season, for a long time – me a wine shop & web site, and Mike a vineyard & winery. He bought his vineyard land in the mid-80′s, about the same time I started Avalon Wine.

Staying put, doing the same thing year after year, might look like not much is changing. Grow the grapes, make the wine (Mike); update the database, help the customer (me). But underneath a lot is changing. Better code for the website (me); a new way of nourishing the vines (Mike). It’s the little details that keep improving things and make the work satisfying.

I’m envious of Mike this year, because he’s exploded. All those little changes, incremental improvements he’s made over the years have reached critical mass like a simmering volcano. And the lava flow is made of Beaux Freres 2008 Pinot noir.

His first release, the 2008 Willamette Valley – whoa Nellie.

Here’s where I would put the tasting note, full of fruit and flowers and spice, sophistication, culmination, and ecstasy. But really, all I need to say is – try it. If you’ve ever wanted to know what Mike Etzel is all about – try it. And if you are a longtime Beaux Freres fan, get ready, because 2008 is what we’ve all known he is capable of, given his years of experience PLUS a perfect vintage.

And I don’t give a hoot about scores, blogs, or pundits. This is it.

February 26th, 2010 | Category: Oregon Wine | Comments are closed

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