Long Island wine quality and pricing is about to elevate to a new plateau. Over 15 years ago, Pindar Vineyards first raised the bar when they introduced Long Island's first "Big Red", Mythology at $27. Lenz rocked the market two years ago with their release of their delicious1997 Estate Merlot at $55 per bottle. Both wines have been well received in the marketplace.

Wolffer Estate is now raising the bar to mountainous levels with the pre-release announcement of their 2000 Signature Merlot at $100 per bottle.  The wine is made from 100% Merlot from Wolffer's oldest vines (planted in 1999) on their Sagapond Estate. That's right, the grapes were grown in the Hamptons, not the North Fork. The hand-picked grapes used in "Signature Merlot" were destemmed and crushed followed by a special hand sorting process. Eight people hand inspected the grapes, removing offcolored grapes and stems.

The wine was bottled in June and will be released in May 2003. Only 100 cases were made and more than 15% of the production has been sold to collectors and restaurants.

"Nobody has blinked an eye at the price of this new wine. We have already sold 15% of our production. We are extremely proud of the highly concentrated flavors of this wine. We don't care if the wine does'nt sell because it will cellar well for many years to come." Winemaker & General Manager, Roman Roth.

Wolffer Estate has consistantly proven that high quality red wines can be produced on the South Fork. Just two weeks ago their 2000 Cabernet Franc was awarded "Best Cabernet Franc" and "Best Red Wine" in the New York State Wine and Food Classic. Winemaker Roman Roth is a class act with stringent quality standards and a proven formula for creating classic Europen-style Long Island wines.

For information and orders call Wolffer Estate at (631) 537-5106 or visit www.Wolffer.com