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Wolffer Estate Vineyard |
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Wolffer Website
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Wollfer Estate History An American Winery in the Classic European Tradition Under winemaker and general manager Roman Roth’s meticulous care, Wölffer Estate wines embody the region as well as a classical style of winemaking, with a rich concentration of fruit and lively acidity born of the unique terroir of these Sagaponack vineyards, similar in some respects to conditions in Bordeaux. In fact, it is the condition of the local soil, called Bridgehampton loam, a by-product of the glacial moraine that formed Long Island, that provides a perfect host for grapevines. The German-born Roth, together with his American vineyard manager, Richard Pisacano, spare no effort or expense in tending to the vineyards and grape production, all to exploit the full potential of the terroir and microclimate, which is constantly bathed in cooler breezes from the Atlantic, only 2.6 miles away. It is this winning combination of climate and soil that ensures the ripeness and acidity necessary for producing elegant wines. Wölffer Estate Winery Inside, on the main level, is a high-ceilinged tasting room and museum which inspires visions of a grand hall, supported by 100-year-old rough-hewn beams from North Carolina and solid terra-cotta tile covering the floors. Sets of tall French doors open onto the vineyards. On the north side of the main level is a private meeting and party room, with its own kitchen. Dominating the room is an antique stained-glass window imported from Germany. On the lower level, the state-of-the-art winemaking facility is equipped with massive, computerized stainless-steel tanks, a laboratory, riddling rooms, a bottling line, and a cellar to hold the wines before distribution.
Christian Wölffer The quintessential entrepreneur, Hamburg-born Christian Wölffer is a master at managing a dazzling array of international enterprises, logging more than 200,000 miles a year in travel. Fluent in six languages, he moves effortlessly around the world, from Europe to the U.S., from the Far East to South America. His career encompasses investment banking, venture capital, real estate, agriculture and entertainment parks. Wölffer's one-time weekend getaway on the East End’s South Shore now embraces more than 170 acres and includes Wölffer's acclaimed 55-acre Wölffer Estate Vineyard as well as his home, stables and grazing land for this avid equestrian’s thoroughbreds. The winery, the jewel in Wölffer's crown, is another summit in a long career that began when he was a teenager in post-war Hamburg. In 1955, at age 17, Christian’s formal education began in the workplace, as a trainee at a bank, and then at an import/export company. Later he worked for BASF, the German chemical company, in Mexico as manager of the sales force. A new position with Intergráfica, a company selling printing and packaging equipment to commercial printers, publishing, newspapers, and packing industries worldwide, sent him back to Mexico where he managed sales forces in Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela. In 1971, Wölffer became a full-fledged entrepreneur. Moving to Canada, he set up a real estate operation that acquired and sold buildings to European investors and then moved into real estate development, mainly indoor tennis and squash centers throughout Canada. Moving to the U.S., he founded Euro Investors, Inc., a venture capital company that finances a variety of enterprises in Oahu, Hawaii, and Orlando, Florida. In 1997, Christian completed work on his state-of-the-art winery. The rustic, Tuscan-style building, with its warm ochre walls, is set on a rise overlooking the vineyards to the east and the gently rolling Hamptons landscape to the west. The massive, rough-hewn front door, framed by two potted conifers, is the image imprinted on the labels of most of the Wölffer Estate wines—the new name for what was formerly known as Sagpond Vineyard. Besides the winery, the Wölffer property hosts the 100-acre Wölffer Estate Stable, an extraordinary equestrian center used for schooling, breeding, year-round boarding, and instruction. The 60-stall facility has the largest indoor riding field on the East Coast and can accommodate up to 100 horses.The stable's manager Frederico Stzyrle competed on Who Knows Lily , one of Christian's horses, for the Argentinian Team during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Wölffer is also one of the sponsors of the renowned Hamptons Classic equestrian show, staged each year in nearby Bridgehampton.
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