Posts Tagged“red tail ridge”

New York Cork Club: May 2016 Selections

With summer just around the corner — despite the cool, grey weather blanketing most of the northeast right now — I wanted to pick some wines this month that are well suited to warmer weather occasions and foods. I think I’ve done that with these wines even if they don’t offer the same sense of discovery as some other picks have. These aren’t obscure producers or grapes or wines that you haven’t seen before. Instead, I’ve chosen two delicious wines from two of my favorite producers — one in the Finger Lakes and one on Long Island. My first pick is…

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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…

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Uncork the Forks: 6 reasons for North Forkers to visit the Finger Lakes

I’m working on several stories after my recent trip to the Finger Lakes — but in the meantime, I wanted to share my latest column for the Suffolk Times, which can be found online on northforker.com Over the past several years, my family has fallen head-over-heels in love with the Finger Lakes region of central New York. It’s a stunningly beautiful part of the country that offers spectacular sunrises and sunsets, fishing, boating, wine tasting, great food and farmer’s markets, a relaxed pace and plenty of relaxation. In some ways, it’s a lot like the North Fork — except it’s…

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Finding Inspiration in the Finger Lakes, by Regan Meador, Southold Farm + Cellar

Getting past New York City with a trailer overloaded with 350 gallons of wine had been a major milestone. As the truck lurched and faded, lurched and faded, every bang of a pothole had me questioning my decision on this endeavor, but I still had four hours to go until the Finger Lakes. I was taking perfectly good still red wine to Bellwether Wine Cellars in Trumansburg so I could turn it into an ode to dry lambrusco (an endeavor that had given more than a few colleagues on Long Island a good laugh). I needed to use their pressurization…

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Red Tail Ridge Winery 2011 Blaufrankisch

It’s extremely rare to find wines that taste exactly the same year-to-year in New York State. And that’s okay. Vintage variation is just part of the package. Not tasting the same isn’t the same as wines not being delicious every year. Winemakers on the East Coast understand what they need to do in cooler years versus the warmer ones. Harvest decisions change. Winery decisions change too. Red Tail Ridge makes some of the best blaufrankisch in New York — and not just in warmer years like 2010 (that was a great wine, though). Though in different ways, I liked the…

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Red Tail Ridge Winery 2012 “Block 606” Riesling

Red Tail Ridge co-owner and winemaker Nancy Irelan clearly enjoys experimenting. She’s already garnered attention for growing and working with unique varieties like teroldego and dornfelder, but with the 2012 vintage she also tried some different things in the cellar with the Finger Lakes’ most beloved grape — riesling. This Red Tail Ridge Winery 2010 “Block 606” Riesling ($25) was made with hand-picked fruit that was whole-cluster pressed and allowed to ferment without inoculation. Fermentation took 76 days to complete. The result is a dry, lower-acidity style of riesling that shows some complexity — particularly on the nose. Featuring aromas…

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Red Tail Ridge Winery 2011 “RTR Vineyard” Pinot Noir

Fruity, with fresh red cherries and red raspberries the nose on the Red Tail Ridge 2011 “RTR Vineyard” Pinot Noir ($20) also shows hints of earthy mushrooms, lavender/lilac and subtle brown spice. It’s a pretty, subtly complex nose. Light bodied, soft and a bit dilute on the mid-palate, the palate doesn’t quite live up to the nose. Red fruits again dominate flavor-wise — cherry, cranberry — with savory, woodsy spice and earthiness. Producer: Red Tail Ridge Winery AVA: Finger Lakes Clone(s): Swan, 113, 114, 115 and 23 Harvest Date(s): September 18 and 25 Yields: 2.5 tons/acre ABV: 12% TA: 5.3…

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Red Tail Ridge Winery 2011 “RTR Vineyard” Pinot Noir

You don’t need to avoid Finger Lakes red wines from cooler, gray-er years like 2011. You just need to know where to look for consistent quality, nearly regardless of vintage. Red Tail Ridge Winery has proven to be one of those beacons of consistency. Winemaker Nancy Irelan’s Red Tail Ridge Winery 2011 “RTR Vineyard” Pinot Noir ($20) is fruity on the nose, with red cherry and red raspberry aromas accented by light notes of brown spice, lavender and earthy raw mushrooms. Though a bit dilute and not as complex as the nose, the light-bodied palate is driven by red fruits —…

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Teroldego: The Story Behind a Red Wine Curiosity

When you’ve worked in the wine industry for years, it takes a little bit more to excite you. You’ve tasted great wines; you’ve seen beautiful landscapes. But if you’re Nancy Irelan, you couldn’t help but be inspired by the scene in front of you: teroldego vines climbing the terraces of Alto Adige, seeming to stretch toward the sky, or at least high into the Dolomites. “It’s just incredible,” Irelan said to no one in particular. On that crisp April day, Irelan felt re-energized by the experience. She has become a kind of red wine pioneer in the Finger Lakes, but…

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Red Tail Ridge Winery 2012 “RTR Estate Vineyard” Riesling

With each set of new releases, Nancy Irelan and Mike Schnelle — the husband-and-wife team behind Red Tail Ridge Winery — cement their place as one of the top wineries in the Finger Lakes. The wine geek in me is drawn to Nancy’s (she’s the winemaker) Obscure Varietal Series, which includes things like dornfelder, teroldego and blaufrankisch, but those are small production and may never be anything more. To be a top-tier Finger Lakes winery, you need to do riesling well. Nancy does that consistently and Red Tail Ridge Winery 2012 “RTR Estate Vineyard” Riesling ($16) is just another example…

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