Posts Tagged“nancy irelan”

New York #Tastemaker: Nancy Irelan | Red Tail Ridge Winery

“Tastemaker” is a term typically used to describe a person — either a sommelier or writer in the wine world — who decides what is good, cool or otherwise interesting. With our new #NYTastemaker profiles, I’ve decided to usurp the term to mean someone who actually makes the wines, ciders, spirits, etc. that we love. A “tastemaker” should make something, after all. One of the true highlights of my trip to the Finger Lakes last month was meeting Nancy Irelan, co-owner of and winemaker for Red Tail Ridge Winery on the western side of Seneca Lake. Nancy (and correctly so) suggested that if we planned…

Red Tail Ridge Winery: A Different Kind of Investment

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent While the basic strategy for opening a functional winery differs from region to region, in the Finger Lakes the trend seems to follow a path that calls for the opening of the tasting room first with production facility and vineyard coming later. While this might be a generalization of sorts, it makes sense in many respects. Nearly 75% of wine sales in the Finger Lakes occur on site; many larger wineries lease production space; and a vineyard takes quite a few years to produce grapes. A winemaker or entrepreneur can purchase grapes, make wine at a different…