Pretty soon they will be filming Masterpiece Theater there. English country architecture lines the lanes. Weeping rooflines, chimney pots, eyebrow windows, and steep gables conjure up the Cotswolds or Lake District.
You knew there would always be an England. But who expected it to be in the cul-de-sacs of former potato fields in Sagaponack? Were it not for the ocean in the background, some traditional shingle-style houses and the few remaining historic farmhouses, no one could blame you for thinking you are in the English countryside. You could almost expect to see one of Jane Austen’s Bennett sisters leaving the Sagg General Store.
Sagaponack was settled in the seventeenth century but was not incorporated as a village until 2005. Keeping control of the beach after a group of oceanfront property owners tried to form their own municipality was the driving force for Sagaponack to incorporate. It might also have been motivated by the desire to avoid having a neighboring town with the tacky name of Dunehampton. (This was hardly a question of poor neighbors confronting the rich and powerful. The Sagaponack zip code, according to Forbes Magazine, has the highest median house price in the country.)
To control house sizes, Sagaponack residents also wanted their own zoning code. At least that’s what we all thought. The truth, I am beginning to suspect, is that deep down they really wanted to channel Tennyson and Hardy, to be free to choose their own identity--the ascendant English style, of course—with Southampton Town no longer in a position to boss them around
The potato fields of Sagaponack, which used to stretch from the railroad tracks to the ocean are mostly gone, some developed, some now horse farms and vineyards. The most prominent, of course, is Wolffer Estate, with vineyards, a winery, and extensive equestrian facilities. Roman Roth, the winemaker, joined Wolffer sixteen years ago when it was a start-up winery, and he has since developed it into practically a synonym for top quality Long Island wine.
In addition to the Wolffer line, Roth makes a merlot—and earlier this month released his first riesling—under his own label, The Grapes of Roth. It’s a terrific wine with aromatic fresh fruit and vibrant, bright acidity. Most of all, the balance of flavors is pitch perfect, demonstrating how good this varietal can be on Long Island. Riesling is a strikingly elegant grape, capable of producing wines of enormous range, depending on vineyard location and conditions, as well as the interpretation of the winemaker. . Based on this new release, I would encourage Long Island winemakers to look seriously at this grape.
We have not seen very much of it on Long Island, but those fields with cooling ocean breezes ought to be conducive to its growth. And we won’t see a lot of The Grapes of Roth Riesling 07—only 270 cases were produced, and at $24 it will sell quickly. Drink this riesling now, while it is young and sprightly.