Jay Summers founded J. Christopher in 1996 and served as winemaker for many years, but since stepping down in 2019 he has devoted himself entirely to this personal project.
He currently continues to make wine at vineyards in the Dundee Hills area of the Willamette Valley that he has worked on for decades, and says he would like to limit production to around 1,500 cases, a much smaller amount than before.
Croft Vineyards is undoubtedly one of the top white wine producers in the Willamette Valley.
Located southwest of Eola Hills near the town of Monmouth, our vineyards are organically grown on ancient marine deposit soils at the foot of the Coast Mountains.
The owners are Chauncey and Toni Croft, and farming is handled by Lee Croft.
Jay Summers has been working with this Sauvignon Blanc since 1999 and it has become an integral part of his winery ever since.
When it came time to launch JC Summers, he chose his favourite block, C Upper Block.
The 2004 vintage was chosen as the best white wine of the year by Sunset magazine and garnered attention as a cult wine.
This is one of Jay's most unique white wines and he says it is a pleasure to make wine from grapes grown in this special place.
The cultivated variety is Sauvignon Blanc Clone 1, grown on a 0.4ha vineyard.
The 2021 vintage was very warm, resulting in a very uniform harvest.
Good rainfall occurred just before harvest began, which was very helpful in bringing balance to the wines after a long, hot, dry growing season.
The wine is vinified in a mixture of 40% Nonbro concrete eggs and 60% stainless steel tanks, and no malolactic fermentation is carried out to preserve the acidity.
JC Summers is a collaboration between Jay Christopher Summers and his longtime partner and wife, Rhonda Newell Summers.
The label features a new moon, signifying a new phase in their winemaking adventure.
Owner and native Oregonian Jay Summers has been making wine in the Willamette Valley for over 30 years and launched the J. Christopher brand in 1996.
Jay Summers, who gained winemaking experience under great winemakers such as his mentor John Paul and Adelsheim of Cameron Winery and Dry River in New Zealand, produces small-lot, handcrafted wines using only the best grapes from the Willamette Valley's finest vineyards.
JC Summers’ philosophy is to make Old World style wines – ones that emphasize focus, length and balance.
Jay says, "We don't make fruit bombs.
I want to create wines that have a perfect balance of fruit, acidity and texture.
We want to create a complete wine that goes beyond an explosive mid-palate flavor.
The key is not to rush it and let the wine develop naturally.
To allow the wines to develop at their own pace, human intervention must be kept to a minimum.
" He takes inspiration from Old World wines and applies it to the Willamette Valley terroir.
When Jay isn't busy making wine, he can be found playing guitar and writing new songs for his band, Portland Cement.
Be sure to check out their new album, "The Road to El Groove."