A decade after launching their “Summer in a Bottle” rosé, during which time it’s become ubiquitous on the tablescapes of the fashion industry’s summer parties, Wölffer Estate Vineyard has introduced a new variety, a “Summer in a Bottle” sauvignon blanc.
The rosé was the Wölffer children’s first brainchild after their father, the vineyard’s founder Christian Wölffer, died in 2008.
“We sat around my living room in New York City and thought about ideas and ‘Summer a Bottle’ was our first really big idea,” says Joey Wölffer, the chief brand officer and co-owner of Wölffer Estate Vineyard, which is based on Long Island.
Along with her co-owner brother Marc, they began working on a sauvignon blanc as part of the “Summer in a Bottle” brand last year.
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“Sauvignon blanc is a really important grape for the region and it is also growing in popularity, which honestly we didn’t really consider because we don’t really follow trends,” Joey Wölffer says. “We feel like we want to make what suits our customer and the market.”
They brought the white to their distributor earlier this summer and the cases sold out in 10 minutes.
“Not everyone drinks rosé. All the people who fall in love with the bottle but maybe don’t drink rosé will drink sauvignon blanc — there are not many people who won’t drink sauvignon blanc,” Wölffer says. “It’s kind of an easy grape.”
She adds that trying new varieties is one of the luxuries they have as a family-owned vineyard.
“We don’t have a board, we don’t answer to a board. We are kind of a creative, innovative bunch,” Wölffer says. “And so we definitely do try a lot of products, but with ‘Summer in a Bottle,’ we’re very strategic because it is sort of the most important brand that we have. And it was something that we have wanted to grow as a category, and this was just a natural fit.”
The Wölffer brand has evolved nonstop in recent years. Last year they opened their vineyard restaurant, which they decided to close this summer to remain focused on the wine.
“We’re really not only growing a brand, but there’s got to be longevity in this brand. We have the next generation, we are not going anywhere,” Wölffer explains, adding that one way they are working on evolving is by developing their nonalcoholic offerings.
“We have something called ‘Spring in a Bottle’; it’s a sparkling rosé with the alcohol removed. A lot of the nonalcs that you’ll have are just purely grape juice.” This summer, they launched “Spring in a Bottle blanc,” a sparkling white.
The vineyard has kept busy throughout the summer, partnering with different fashion brands to host events out east. The estate did a partnership with John Hardy that included a capsule collection — especially meaningful to Wölffer as Reed Krakoff, John Hardy’s creative chairman, “has been my accessory hero for my whole career.” Wölffer, who began her career in the fashion world, runs her own boutique in Sag Harbor, which carried the collaboration.
In early August, Wölffer hosted a dinner along with Brunello Cucinelli at her brother Marc’s home.
“They’re a family-owned brand, they have a really strong sense of authenticity and I think that’s something that’s really important when you’re looking to do these events,” she says. “There’s so many places that do event after event after event — and they have to be special. So it felt like a really good brand fit for us.”
