Whew. Last night’s vertical tasting of estate selection chardonnay at Wolffer Estate was an absolute blast and highly educational. I’ve got piles of notes that I need to wade through for a full post (along with some pictures) so stay tuned.

Any time that you have the winemaker and the vineyard manager in the same room, it’s fascinating to hear both perspectives.

I have to say, I was a little surprised when I walked it an the winemaker, Roman Roth, told me we’d be starting with a 1992 vintage. Conventional wisdom says we were in for some not-so-good wines early on…but I can honestly say that not a single one of the wines was over the hill or flat out shot. In fact, the 1992 was the only one that showed any signs of age at all really…and even then it was just on the nose, which had hints of petrol.

Quite a  few people didn’t show up for the event (they missed out) but I got to meet Doug Gulija, owner and chef at Plaza Cafe
in Southhampton Village. From the sounds of it, he has an amazing
personal wine collection that he pretty much offers up to anyone dining
in his 50-table restaurant. I’ve never been there, but there was some
discussion about having the next Wolffer vertical event there…along
with some food he whips up.

Michael Braverman, a writer for Hamptons Magazine and The East Hampton Star, was also in attendance. We exchanged cards and I have a feeling we may just work on something in the near future.

After
meeting and tasting along side the owner, I may have also stumbled upon
a new wine shop I need to check out…Grape Culture in St. James, NY.

Anyway, keep an eye out later this week or early next week for a full report. It was a blast.