Roman Roth likes to joke that he started his own small-production label, Grapes of Roth, as a college fund for his daughter, Indira. But his care and attention to detail and passion for making the best possible wines from our East End terroir, it was more than that. It was the project where this ambitious German ex-pat and champion of the Empire State wine industry could create something all his own.
Twenty-five years later, he’s celebrating a silver milestone for that wine.
Last month, to honor the occasion, he held an intimate private tasting and dinner at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, featuring the very first vintage: the 2001 merlot, along with 2004 merlot, 2010 merlot and 2012 merlot, along with the 2010 and 2024 releases of his Grapes of Roth riesling (which features a photo of his mother, Rosa, to whom that particular white wine is dedicated).
Roth has become known as much for singing and his one-liners, one of the most common of the latter he likes to crack: “I wish I would age as well as my wines.” But there’s truth in the quip, and deeply so with the reds on hand that evening. From the ’12 on down to the very first vintage in 2001, there was so much fruit and life in the glass — something many critics doubted Long Island wines were capable of over the long haul, but standout winemaker like Roth and many of his cohorts have proven time after time.
Roth began his work on Long Island after Wölffer founder and namesake, Christian Wölffer, flew to his homeland of Germany to meet with the young winamaker who applied for a job at his then-fledging winery. It began a relationship and a commitment to the Sagaponack-based winery that’s lasted decades, and has seen that label not just in restaurants both here and further west in New York City, but all over the country — a success story if there ever were one for the proof that Long Island wine is well worthy of exploration beyond its borders.
Grapes of Roth, however, is extremely small production, making these wines some of the most coveted in the region.
In a 2006 article in the New York Times written by wine critic Eric Asimov — the year the 2001 was officially released to the world — was nothing less than effusive:
“… the wine I’m about to about will not be easily found. But I tink it’s important to discuss this wine because of what it says about the potential of the region … It is a great merlot, with aromas of black cherry, raspberry, flowers and just a little bit of tar underneath that I find in my favorite Long Island merlots. It’s a little peppery, and it’s got a small herbal touch just to keep things teetering on a blanc, but it holds together beautifully. It has soft tannins and good acidity. And the alcohol level was an eminently sane 13.3 percent. With steak, it was superb. How will it age? Hard to say…”
Assurances to Mr. Asimov, it aged quite beautifully.
While the name “Grapes of Roth” might sound a little weighty in its reference to John Steinbeck’s famed novel The Grapes of Wrath focusing on tenant farmers during the Great Depression, but its origins has more of Roth’s lighthearted touch, as well as a nod to local history (Steinbeck lived in Sag Harbor for many years, where Roth and his family currently reside).
“It was actually Dushi’s school friend from Australia. She’s a doctor and has quite a good sense of humor,” says Roth. “She came to visit us for our wedding [in Germany] along with all these other friends visiting from overseas. We were touring around the Black Forest and were sitting somewhere when she said, ‘Well, if you ever do make your wine, you’ve got to call it the Grapes of Roth!’ And that stuck.”
He has by and large only made 2,400 bottles of the wine annually — a drop in a barrel, or a drop in about eight barrels — and all from a small 1.8 acre block on Tuttle’s Lane in Jamesport, planted by and tended to by vineyard manager Sam McCullough, who was also on hand at the dinner to toast and lightly poke fun at times at his old friend. But they both have quite a bit to be proud of.
“It luckily took off from the start, and it got the 91 points from [wine critic Robert] Parker for the 2001, and then the 92 for the 2002. I think I’ve gotten now like 92, 93, 94 points over the years, and then of course the two top 100 [from Wine Enthusiast] are were the icing on the cake, so that was pretty cool,” says Roth.
The glorious 2021 is the most recent red release, with 2022 on deck to come out shortly. For the lovely riesling, 2022 is out in the market now (if you can find it; Wölffer is always a good place to start).
“Every time you do something extra, something bigger comes. I always say, you know, if you’re going the extra mile, something great happens,” he says. “I think Grapes of Roth is no exception to this. It’s my life. It’s my passion.”
