Legacy and Future of Wolffer Estate

Vintner sold 115 acres of Sagaponack farmland in 2001 for preservation

By Taylor K. Vecsey

(01/08/2009)    Christian Wolffer, one of the biggest land owners

David E. Rattray Christian Wolffer’s “vision for what Long Island winemaking could accomplish and his passion for horses . . . represent an enduring legacy,” according to a statement on the Wolffer Estate Web site.

with 175 acres in Sagaponack and the force behind the vineyard, winery, and stables that bear his name, died when he was struck by a boat while he was swimming off the coast of Brazil on New Year’s Day. He was 70 years old. News of Mr. Wolffer’s death made international headlines, as this German-born entrepreneur held stakes in businesses and real estate across the globe.

    Mr. Wolffer was at a lunch at a house owned by Oswoldo Luiz Pastore and Carol Overmeer in Paraty, a colonial town on the southeastern coast about 100 miles west of Rio de Janeiro, when he took a swim in the ocean. According to Brazilian new reports, a boat’s propeller blade caused two diagonal gashes to his chest.

    From shore, other guests, including Fernanda Lima, a model and actress, and her boyfriend, Rodrigo Hilbert, a former model, saw him waving his hands in distress, and swam to his aid. He was pulled to the shore, but died en route to the hospital.

Obituaries: Christian Wolffer, Sagaponack winemaker

    A death certificate listed the cause of death as acute anemia caused by internal hemorrhaging, according to Brazilian police reports. An inquest into his death is continuing, and Marcos Cerqueira, the police inspector in Paraty, has told reporters that while Mr. Wolffer’s death was accidental, whoever was driving the boat would be charged with manslaughter.

    Police detained a suspect earlier this week, but his name was not released, nor was he charged.

    As his family, which includes two daughters, Joanna Wolffer and Georgina Wolffer of New York City, arranged for his body to be flown back to Germany for burial, those who ran the winery and stables in Sagaponack continued with business as usual.

    “Christian’s vision for what Long Island winemaking could accomplish and his passion for horses . . . represents an enduring legacy which the Wolffer family is committed to uphold,” the family said in a statement on the Wolffer Estate’s Web site.

    Wolffer Estate consists of a large indoor riding arena, grand prix field, a stable with more than 80 stalls, 30 paddocks, an Olympic-size dressage ring, an 11,000-square-foot winery building, and more than 50 acres of planted chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and pinot noir grapes. The winery produces 16,500 cases each year.

    With the contents of his will unknown, it is notable that Mr. Wolffer sold the farmland development rights to 115 acres of his estate for $8.1 million in 2001. The deal covered the majority of the estate, “except where we have buildings,” Mr. Wolffer said.

    In selling the development rights, Mr. Wolffer was paid the difference between the property’s value as agricultural land and its value as developable land. His heirs could sell the property, but it can never be developed with anything but agricultural buildings.

    Louisa Thomas Hargrave, a pioneer of the Long Island wine industry, said that she has no doubts that the vineyard and winery will continue. “It’s actually something to applaud, the fact that he did make that commitment to the farmland. It is immensely important.”

    “Farming practices change every 20 to 30 years,” she said. “You might not like rutabagas. You might not like grapes. But the land will be farmed. In my opinion, that’s most important.”

    She called the Wolffer Estate Vineyard “the number one farmland” for planting and growing grapes on the South Fork. “You can ride a horse on any kind of land,” she said, adding that the right soil and weather conditions for a vineyard were harder to come by on the South Fork, with its proximity to the ocean and where the growing season also tends to be shorter than on the North Fork. Mr. Wolffer’s land is located in “a sun belt,” with less fog than other areas, she said. “He’s got a prime site.”

    Ms. Hargrave also said that “his employee roster” at the vineyard and winery, including Roman Roth, were committed to Wolffer Estate. “He hired the best people, and let them do their job,” she said. Mr. Wolffer also allowed Mr. Roth to make his own wine brand. “It’s not that they won’t miss Christian. But, they don’t need him to tell them what’s what.”

    When Mr. Wolffer struck the deal to sell the development rights, his intention was clear. “I’m very much in favor of not continuing the building boom out here,” Mr. Wolffer told The East Hampton Star. “Our real interest is to keep the area open and to create an environment here.”

    Mr. Wolffer admitted that farming was “an unprofitable business.” He said that land prices were high, and that selling the development rights would help to make up some of the capital costs involved in building a winery and establishing a vineyard. At the time, it was one of the largest purchases of farmland development rights in Southampton Town, which agreed to contribute $2.5 million. The county paid about $5.8 million.

    By 2001, Mr. Wolffer had had his share of dealings with the town. He struggled for more than half a dozen years with the town and state zoning regulations, or the lack thereof, to build a riding arena and an 11,000-square-foot winery building. In 2006 and 2007, he would go head-to-head with neighbors over zoning laws when he decided to build a two-story dormitory on Narrow Lane East for the people who worked for him.

    In the 1990s, how the state and town defined agricultural structures was at the heart of the battle over how to classify riding arenas and vineyards. In a precedent setting case, Mr. Wolffer succeeded in getting riding arenas and wineries included in state and town law as agricultural structures.

    The expense was worth the fight, he said in an interview in 1996. “If it was an investment without a return, I wouldn’t do it. Other people collect paintings. This is a very valuable painting I have created myself,” he said.