Nancy Irelan is the winemaker and partner at Red Tail Ridge. She has been in the wine industry for more than 35 years. She’s a UC Davis Grad who worked for 10 years at EJ Gallo among many other stops.
Her partner is and co-owner is Mike Schnelle. Mike is the vineyardist. After dabbling in heavy equipment and finance, took a few short courses in viticulture, and a brewing certification from UC-Davis, packed up the two dogs and his belongings and moved to the FLX to start Red Tail Ridge. Nancy joined him a year or so later.
Dogs have always been a been a big part of winery life for Nancy and Mike. Today, it’s Mr. B Also known as Bueller. Bueller is a rescue through the National Great Pyrenees Rescue (NGPR). Bueller patrols the vineyard on a daily basis and is also a lover at heart.
I’m a big fan of Gewuztraminer. And this was an exceptional one. Crisp aromatic white. Tropical fruits and flowers abound. Perfume and vanilla custard. Great citrusy ending. Great acidity at the end
The Pinot Noir Rose had lovely notes of Fresh strawberry, red raspberry. pomegranate, and slate. A lovely acidity at the end.
Not a huge fan of American Dornfelders Only two have ever struck me as truly good wines. One in California, and the one here. A big brambly black fruit stew with blackberry and dark cherry, with some earthiness and spice.
This is a wonderful expression of this grape. This Blaufrankish has black cherry on the nose and on the palate. A touch of cedar and vanilla. The cherry lingers.
Mike and Nancy do an incredible job with this wine. One of th bet red wines in the Finger Lakes for sure. And a personal favorite of mine. Have a half a case of this stuff in my cellar. Strawberry and cherry and bramble on the nose and palate. Dark fruits as well. Nice tannins and vanilla. Layers on layers. Beautifully constructed, complex and well balanced.
Their Lagrein was a new one for me. (pronounced lah-GRAH’EEN, lah-GRINE or lah-GRI’NE)[1] is a red wine grape variety native to the valleys of South Tyrol, northern Italy. it is a descendant of Teroldego, and related to Syrah and Pinot noir. The name suggests its origins lie in the Lagarina valley of Trentino, grown there since the 17th century. It made for a beautiful wine with notes of Blackberry violets with an earthy spicy quality. Good tannins Nice finish. Nice acidity. This made an impression on me!
Rebel With a Cause is a blend of 36% Toreldego 21% Lagrein 43% Blaufrankish
Cherry, blackberry, bramble. Smooth layered approachable Fantastic Another one of my favorites.
My traveling companion Rich Srsich and I were then escorted over to the production area, where we were finally introduced to Bueller. Bueller was a big white Pyrenees, who was gated away. No problem, he easily leapt the 3 ½ foot high gate and bounded down the stairs like some rescuing moments in a Hollywood film. Happily, Bueller ran the rest of the tasting. Bueller and Rich seemed to get along fine.
Nancy and Michael poured us two more wines.
This dry sparkling Riesling was next We loved it. Great fruit up front. Bread with green apples and tropical fruit. Great acidity. Well balanced. Complex. Wonderful!
Sparkling Estate Pinot Noir Rose Pet Nat. The Pet Nat process is non-interventionist and ancient. Freshly fermenting wine is bottled. Later , the lees are disgorged, and the bottle are topped off. each bottle is unique. This wine had a pink frothy head to it. And it smelled like fresh crushed bright cherries and strawberries, and that was what it tasted like. This dark pink, rosato sparkler was dry, but it was all fruit forward. A nice creamy middle Some lovely citrus zest in there at the end. Most Pet Nats I’ve had are extremely small production. Here, Nancy and Mike had done 600 cases! I think that equals all the other pet nats in the state put together. What made it more exciting, was that this was one of the best nats Ive tasted from anywhere. It was incredib;e Done and done. My favorite wine of the day. You gotta track this stuff down.
Nancy, Michael and Bueller are doing an incredible job! Red Tail Ridge Vineyards is one of the best wineries on the east coast, and could set the edge in any other region. You need to get yourself some of these wines. Or you really are missing out!
