J. Christopher Wines, a winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is thrilled to announce that our former assistant winemaker, Timothy Malone, has returned to take on the role of head winemaker. Tim began his new chapter at J. Christopher on September 1 and immediately dived into 2020 harvest preparations with the rest of the winery team.
“We couldn’t be happier,” says winery owner Ernst Loosen. “It’s such a pleasure to work with Tim. He’s always so upbeat and fun to be around. And he knows exactly what we’re trying to achieve with the wines, because he played a major part in developing the J. Christopher approach to winemaking.”
As our assistant winemaker from 2008 to 2015, Tim helped drive every aspect of J. Christopher’s winemaking, and was instrumental in developing the winemaking style and cellar practices in the newly built J. Christopher winery. He also trained our current cellar master, Mick Trask.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Mick and the team again,” says Tim. “J. Christopher has been everything to me in terms of my wine education – it’s been my whole upbringing. I love this facility. I love the people. And I’m really looking forward to getting back in there and focusing on making exceptional wines.”
Tim has been elbow-deep in our wines for years. A native New Yorker, he sold J. Christopher wines for a high-end East Coast distributor before we lured him west in 2006 with an offer of harvest work and learning opportunities. Over the next couple of years, he learned from some of the best, including Cameron Winery in Dundee and Flowers Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma, before joining us full time.
Tim left J. Christopher in 2015 to focus on his own label, Timothy Malone Wines. Today, it’s a best-of-both-worlds story as he returns to direct the J. Christopher and Appassionata production and to continue producing his own brand at the J. Christopher winery.
