|
The
quintessential
entrepreneur,
Hamburg-born
Christian
Wölffer
is
fluent
in
six
languages,
he
moves
effortlessly
around
the
world,
from
Europe
to
the
U.S.,
from
the
Far
East
to
South
America.
His
career
encompasses
investment
banking,
venture
capital,
real
estate,
agriculture
and
entertainment
parks.
Wölffer's
one-time
weekend
getaway
on
the
East
End’s
South
Shore
now
embraces
more
than
170
acres
and
includes
Wölffer's
acclaimed
55-acre
Wölffer
Estate
Vineyard
as
well
as
his
home,
stables
and
grazing
land
for
this
avid
equestrian’s
thoroughbreds.
The
winery,
the
jewel
in
Wölffer's
crown,
is
another
summit
in
a
long
career
that
began
when
he
was
a
teenager
in
post-war
Hamburg.
In
1955,
at
age
17,
Christian’s
formal
education
began
in
the
workplace,
as
a
trainee
at
a
bank,
and
then
at
an
import/export
company.
Later
he
worked
for
BASF,
the
German
chemical
company,
in
Mexico
as
manager
of
the
sales
force.
A
new
position
with
Intergráfica,
a
company
selling
printing
and
packaging
equipment
to
commercial
printers,
publishing,
newspapers,
and
packing
industries
worldwide,
sent
him
back
to
Mexico
where
he
managed
sales
forces
in
Mexico,
Central
America,
Colombia
and
Venezuela.
In
1971,
Wölffer
became
a
full-fledged
entrepreneur.
Moving
to
Canada,
he
set
up
a
real
estate
operation
that
acquired
and
sold
buildings
to
European
investors
and
then
moved
into
real
estate
development,
mainly
indoor
tennis
and
squash
centers
throughout
Canada.
Moving
to
the
U.S.,
he
founded
Euro
Investors,
Inc.,
a
venture
capital
company
that
finances
a
variety
of
enterprises
in
Oahu,
Hawaii,
and
Orlando,
Florida.
In
1997,
Christian
completed
work
on
his
state-of-the-art
winery.
The
rustic,
Tuscan-style
building,
with
its
warm
ochre
walls,
is
set
on
a
rise
overlooking
the
vineyards
to
the
east
and
the
gently
rolling
Hamptons
landscape
to
the
west.
The
massive,
rough-hewn
front
door,
framed
by
two
potted
conifers,
is
the
image
imprinted
on
the
labels
of
most
of
the
Wölffer
Estate
wines—the
new
name
for
what
was
formerly
known
as
Sagpond
Vineyard.
Besides
the
winery,
the
Wölffer
property
hosts
the
100-acre
Wölffer
Estate
Stable.
The
60-stall
facility
has
the
largest
indoor
riding
field
on
the
East
Coast
and
can
accommodate
up
to
100
horses.
The
stable's
manager
Frederico
Stzyrle
competed
on
Who
Knows
Lily
,
one
of
Christian's
horses,
for
the
Argentinian
Team
during
the
2004
Summer
Olympics
in
Athens,
Greece.
Wölffer
is
also
one
of
the
sponsors
of
the
renowned
Hamptons
Classic
equestrian
show,
staged
each
year
in
nearby
Bridgehampton.
|