WINERY Wölffer Estate Vineyard
WINEMAKER Roman Roth
ASSISTANT WINEMAKER Luca Messana
WINE 2025 Estate Rosé, 12.5% abv, 14,500 cases made
GRAPES 60% merlot, 10% cabernet franc, 10% cabernet sauvignon, 9% chardonnay, 6% riesling, 4% vidal blanc, 1% chenin blanc
PRICE $20
FAVE FOOD PAIRING Seared Montauk tuna
Unless you’ve been residing under a sun-bleached rock in Provence, you know that Wölffer is synonymous with rosé. Unarguably, the winery put it on the map on Long Island (and, dare we say, elsewhere in the country) and managed to re-jigger the old rosé-is-sweet-wine trope once and for all. But while you may attribute some of that to their extremely well-known Summer in a Bottle rosé, it all started with the estate version.
“The Estate Rosé is the wine that started the dry rosé wave in 1992. We have always taken our rosé making very seriously and combine that with a phenomenal dream vintage like 2025 and the result is spectacular,” says Wölffer winemaker, rosé maestro and partner Roman Roth.
Originally touted as the gold label rosé — because, naturally, the label was partially gold — its dazzling little sister, Summer, seems to have garnered so much attention that Goldie has gotten a little lost in the shuffle, if you ask us.
And also, if you’re still asking us, we’re a bit partial to her. In typical fashion, the 2025 Estate Rosé release is gorgeously aromatic, mouth filling and food-friendly, with notes of fresh, ripe summer strawberry, juicy cantaloupe and torn basil (you know what we mean — when you tear a leaf in half and just get all that aroma from the herb’s natural oils — ahhh!).
“The key to a great rosé is not power but balance and harmony. Nobody likes an overripe or an unripe fruit or wine,” says Roth. “The secret is to specifically choose seven different grape varieties and deliberately finding the perfect moment to harvest each one from different blocks.”
Also, it’s 20 bucks! For all those complainers out there maw-mawing about the price of Long Island wines, that’s pretty darned pocket friendly. And with its screwcap, you don’t even need a wine key. Boom! The fact that it still receives Wölffer’s gold-standard care and attention makes the value climb from there.
“We started picking on September 21 and ended on October 7. The 2025 vintage was spectacular. The fruit was both healthy and concentrated in flavors,” says assistant winemaker Luca Messana. “Once fermentation finished, the wine was rested on the fine lees for 12 weeks to enhance its complexity.”
And with her fancy new outfit, Goldie is ripe and ready for a summer 2026 introduction to society and a culinary cotillion of East End delights.
“The Estate Rosé is a fantastic wine to pair with food, especially with locally harvested fish, meat and produce,” says Messana. “Some of my favorites are lobster rolls, seared Montauk tuna, beef tartare, and a fresh cucumber and tomato salad.”
