J. Christopher Riesling Willamette Valley 07

Excellent winemaker Jay Somers releases this wine each fall and it sells out quickly. Complex, refreshing, it has an unusually large range of floral and fruit flavors with clean, crisp finish.

The J. Christopher Willamette Valley Riesling 06 received two stars from the SF Chronicle, who said: Dry and light with some slaty grip that follows tangerine rind, green apple and lime. One panelist likened this wine to having an oily nose and an almost Saar-like steeliness and grip. Very limited availability.

Jay Somers first worked making wine with John Paul, winemaker and owner of tiny cult winery Cameron. In 1999, after three vintages at Cameron, he partnered with Bill Holloran, a software executive with a love of wine, and they built a small winery on Holloran's farm. In return for making Holloran's Holloran Winery and Stafford Hill label wines, Jay uses the facility to make his own J Christopher label. Jay tries to work with organic vineyards as much as possible.