WINE & SPIRITS

WÖLFFER ESTATE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS ON LONG ISLAND

On a gorgeous spring day I strolled through the stables at Wölffer Estate, set on 125 acres of pasture in Bridgehampton. There are nearly 100 horses in the complex, which boasts an Olympic-size dressage ring. As I passed stall after stall of tall majestic horses, I paused at one to study the gorgeous creature inside with its stately neck. Call me a horse whisperer, but I just knew that horse had to be Noblesse Oblige. "Yes indeed, that's Noblesse," said stable director Kate Mahlind. "She's a ten-year-old Holsteiner Warmblood, elegant in her movements, with a feminine personality." That particular beauty was the inspiration for one of Wölffer's most notable new wines, the soon-to-be-released Noblesse Oblige sparkling rosé.

In honor of the winery's 20th anniversary, owner Christian Wölffer created a series of wines after his favorite horses, prize-winning jumpers whose names will grace the labels. Cassina will be the namesake for a new fruity barbera (the first ever made in Long Island). "She's sweet and loving," Mahlind explained.

A new top-of-the-line cabernet franc will meanwhile be named after Caya. "Our main Argentinean trainer, Federico, describes her as the best horse we've ever had. She qualified for the Olympics," Mahlind said. We stopped to look in on Descencia, a tall gray horse that will soon grace the sweet botrytis chardonnay. We passed Fatalis Fatum, a chestnut-hued Grand Prix jumper (a merlot blend) and Cassango, another chestnut Warmblood (a cabernet sauvignon).

After visiting with the horses, I sat on the stone floor of a terrace overlooking the Tuscan-style winery's 55 acres of manicured vineyards—and tasted through the new releases, as Roman Roth, the talented winemaker responsible for Wölffer's international acclaim, reminisced about the winery's many milestones.

"We first came onto the map in 1995 with our Estate Selection Chardonnay," he said. "It's still our flagship chardonnay." We tasted the '03, which is 100 percent barrel-fermented and aged in new French oak. It had a classic Burgundian character, with a round mouth-feel and tastes of crème brûlée.

Next we tasted the classic rosé, which has become Wölffer's calling-card wine.