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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.

June 17, 2010, at 7:34 am

Oregon Wine – Spindrift Pinot 08 Tops Tennessee Tasting

spindrift-matt-compton-250pOregon wine is getting buzz in Tennessee – Frank Sutherland, of The Tennessean, says that the 2008 Pinot noir “Oregon wine may be wine of the decade”. He and his tasting group gave our local Spindrift Cellars Pinot, at $20, a tie for first with a $52 wine.

Spindrift is just down the road from Avalon in Philomath. Matt Compton (at right) manages several local vineyards as well as making his Spindrift wines.

Here’s what the Tennesseean said:

2008 Spindrift Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. $19.99. (We have it for $17.95, any 12). The nose suggested coffee, burnt sugar, flat cola, black tea, menthol and mocha cherry cheesecake. The Spindrift was lean in the mouth (not overly fruity), with more acidity, green herb flavors, bright fruit and acids. This wine tasted more like a Burgundy than the others. It tied for first.

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