Posts Tagged“roman roth”

WTN: Wolffer Estate 2004 Cabernet Franc (The Hamptons, Long Island)

Wolffer Estate, one of two quality-focused producers in the Hamptons, focuses mainly on two varieties: Merlot and Chardonnay. They make no fewer than four different bottlings of each — including Long Island’s most expensive wine the Premier Cru Merlot, which retails for $125 and a succulent, lively late harvest chardonnay. Some of those wines are good for everyday drinking. Some are stunningly delicious and complex. But still, who can live on only merlot and chardonnay? I know that I can’t and, as you probably know, I’m a big fan of Long Island cabernet franc. Wolffer’s winemaker, Roman Roth, makes a…

Continue Reading

Coming Spring 2008: Grapes of Roth Riesling

Roman Roth shared some exciting news (at least for riesling lovers) with me over the weekend. He’s making a Grapes of Roth 2007 Riesling. Roman found 4 tons of fruit at Split Rock Vineyard in Greenport, and as he put it "The grapes looked great when I first saw them with a low yield of 2 tons per acre and so I jumped at the opportunity. We have been babying it here at the winery. At the moment it is fermenting at extremely low temperature of 56 Fahrenheit and it is looking good." Just like the GoR merlots, only about…

Continue Reading

LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Roman Roth, Winemaker, Wolffer Estate

Today’s Q & A is with one of my favorite people in Long Island wine, Roman Roth. He’s the winemaker at Wolffer Estate in the Hamptons as well as at Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork. He has also served (and still serves) as a consultant for several other producers, including Shinn Estate and Scarola Vineyards. But, the reason I enjoy him so much is that, despite being a bit of a superstar winemaker locally, he’s extremely down to earth, genuine and quite funny. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking? At my parents home…

Continue Reading

Wolffer Has a Way with Chardonnay

Chardonnay. It’s a grape that makes many wine lovers shudder. I blame the over-oaked, buttery, flabby chardonnays coming out of California. The overly tropical ones coming from Down Under aren’t doing us any favors either. I’m talking about barrel fermented chardonnay here, by the way. Gary over at Wine Library TV complains about these wines and the "Oak Monster." And he’s right. There was even a time when I turned my nose up at barrel-fermented chardonnay because so few winemakers seemed to know how to use oak judiciously-as a spice rather than main component. Local wineries fell into this trap…

Continue Reading

Roanoke Vineyards Celebrates its 2nd Birthday

On November 19, Roanoke Vineyards celebrated its second birthday with a tasting of Big Reds…all made by Roman Roth. The wines poured included three different Roanoke bottlings, a Grapes of Roth merlot and Long Island’s most expensive wine, Wolffer Estate Vineyards’ Premier Cru. Unfortunately, I was unable to partake in the festivities. But, LENNDEVOURS reader Sean Reilly covered the event for us. Below is his report. It is certain that 2006 has been a watershed year for the Long Island wine industry. Never before have Long Island wines received such attention and praise from the major wine press. The Wine…

Continue Reading

Harvest Lunch @ Wolffer Estate Vineyards, December 9: Taste the 2006 Vintage

On Saturday, December 9 at 12:30 p.m., Wolffer Estate Vineyards will host a harvest luncheon, where winemaker Roman Roth will offer the first tasting of Wolffer’s 2006 vintage. A traditional harvest lunch will also be served in the cellar. It’s $35 per person for wine club members and $40 per person for non-members. To RSVP call 631 537-5106 Ext. 20. Most everyone I’ve talked to says that 2006 was a surprisingly good harvest, with good flavors. This is a unique chance to taste these just-made wines. Unfortunately, Nena and I have a lamaze class all day on the 9th, so…

Continue Reading

Les Howard: Building on Success at Jamesport Vineyards

Winemaker Les Howard’s 18-plus months at Jamesport Vineyards have been some of the craziest of his winemaking career. There was the stressful-but-successful 2005 harvest season that may prove to be one of Long Island’s finest. There’s how he’s developing his own style as head winemaker while maintaing the quality Jamesport is known for. And recently, he’s been able to enjoy impressive scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. "Things cannot be much better here at Jamesport," he wrote recently in an email. Howard, a Long Island native, "never thought of being a winemaker" when he first started at Pindar Vineyards over…

Continue Reading

WTN: Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2002 Estate Selection Merlot (The Hamptons, Long Island)

I’ve written about the wines of Wolffer Estate several times, so I probably don’t need to provide much background here. Just know that despite vineyards that have slightly more chardonnay in them than merlot, Wolffer, and winemaker Roman Roth are devoted to Long Island merlot. They are a founding member of the Long Island Merlot Alliance and also create Long Island’s most expensive merlot — their Premier Cru Merlot ($125). One can easily argue the merits of both a $125 bottle of Long Island wine and the LIMA, but today we’re talking about Wolffer Estate Vineyards’ 2002 Estate Selection Merlot…

Continue Reading

WTN: Grapes of Roth 2001 Merlot ($50)

Later this month, Roman Roth, the winemaking talent behind the wines of Wolffer Estate, Shinn Estate Vineyards and Roanoke Vineyards, will show off his garagiste side. Translated from French garagiste literally means “garage owner," but in the world of wine, it’s used to describe a winemaker who produces small lots of high-quality, handcrafted wines – sometimes right in his or her own garage. And while Roth didn’t make his private label — Grapes of Roth — in his garage, he’s embraced the garagiste philosophy, crafting fewer than two hundred cases of his 2001 Grapes of Roth Merlot ($50). Roth grew…

Continue Reading