The wine presents a complex bouquet of toasted macadamia nuts, fresh fruit and brioche and features flavors of brioche, vanilla and citrus.

Located in New York’s Finger Lakes region, Red Tail Ridge Winery is owned and operated by Mike Schnelle and winemaker Nancy Irelan, a husband and wife team who came to Seneca Lake from California, where Mike worked in the financial services business and Nancy was an executive in charge of viticulture and oenology R&D at a large winery. They developed their vineyard from scratch, are farming in a sustainable manner and were the first LEED certified winery in New York. The focus of their production is Riesling, but they've also planted several clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well as small experimental plots of Teroldego and Dornfelder. They plan to remain a limited production winery crafting premium dry wines that faithfully reflect their origins. The winery attracted attention for its early releases with some very positive press and several Gold and Silver medals in competitions on the East and West coasts. Wine Business Monthly named Red Tail Ridge one of its Hot Small Brands of 2008.

Technical notes

(100% Pinot Noir) Made using the Methode Champenoise technique, 50% was allowed to go through malolactic and 50% was barrel aged. The wine then aged in the bottle on its lees for a year before disgorgement.