A beloved Hamptons entrepreneur and vineyard owner died when he was struck by a boat while swimming in South America, The Post has learned.
Christian Wolffer, 70, the spry, bon-vivant founder of Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, was fatally injured during a morning swim on Wednesday, according to family friends.
News of the tragedy swept through the Hamptons, dampening holiday spirits.
“It’s a sad day,” said Roman Roth, a winemaker who worked with Wolffer to produce highly regarded vintages.
“He was an important part of our lives,” said Roth’s wife, Dushy. “He was a great man. He is very sadly missed.”
Details of the accident were still unclear late yesterday.
“I believe it happened [Wednesday] morning,” said Ted Conklin, owner of Sag Harbor’s American Hotel and a friend of the gregarious, fun-loving vintner.
The German-born Wolffer – who ran several businesses in Canada and the United States before founding the successful Long Island vineyard in 1988 – was “an icon” in the Hamptons, noted author Steven Gaines.
“He was quite a boulevardier,” Gaines said. “He was a man about town – he loved beautiful women and wine.”
The septuagenarian once dated Sallie Toussaint, a former Miss World and girlfriend of Prince Albert of Monaco, among other stunners.
Wolffer was a fixture on the social circuit and for years was a sponsor of the annual Hamptons Classic equestrian show. He was also pals with the likes of Martha Stewart, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and hotelier Andre Balazs.
Friends said Wolffer remained close to his ex-wife, Marks & Spencer department-store heiress Naomi Marks Wolffer. He doted on their two daughters, Joanna, 26, and Georgina, 23.
He owned millions in property in the Hamptons alone.
Fluent in half a dozen languages, he traveled the world working for German chemical conglomerate BASF and later ran a venture-capital firm that financed amusement parks.
But it was Wolffer’s rustic, Tuscan-style winery for which he became best known.
Sagpond Vineyards, as the winery was first known, planted its first vines in 1988 and released its first wine three years later, according to an article in The Wine Report.
The company makes custom wines for the ultra-wealthy and also turns out about 16,000 cases of critically acclaimed wines each year.
Wolffer’s 170-acre estate also houses Sagpond Stables, a world-class equestrian center that the company claims is the largest on the East Coast.
Wolffer in recent years had been looking to expand his wine operation to other countries, including Brazil and Argentina.
Wolffer recently became a minority owner in an Argentine vineyard and was in the process of buying another in that country.