Nicole MontesanoStaff Writernmontesano@newsregister.com503-687-1231Nicole is a graduate of Western Oregon State College, now Western Oregon University. She worked for East Valley Newspapers in Stayton and Silverton for two years before joining the News-Register staff in 1994. She makes her home in Dundee, center of the Oregon wine industry. An avid gardener, she writes a food and cooking column for the newspaper's Community section in addition to her reporting duties. A longtime courts reporter, she took over responsibility for McMinnville city government beat in 2002.