Nancy Irelan's prestigious career path includes a decade at E&J Gallo as VP of Viticulture & Enology R&D, a PhD in grape genetics in the UC-Davis Viticulture and Enology Department, along with numerous consulting gigs.

After years of large volume production and mass appeal, Red Tail Ridge is a personal journey of introspection for Nancy, as she focuses on how to best represent the unique personality and terroir of her vineyard. The Finger Lakes is the perfect region for her to achieve her goals of progress and innovation with sustainable wine production. With a climate similar to the cool climate regions in Europe, the Fingers Lakes is the perfect place to experiment. It was important to Nancy and her partner Michael to set up for the long-term, which is why they became a LEED-gold certified green winery—currently the only one in New York State.

Her wines are regarded as some of the most clean and terroir-driven of this cool climate growing area, and we are extremely honored for the opportunity to have her here at Mallard to showcase them!

We will be pairing four of Red Tail Ridge's world-class wines with dishes by our chef Hamilton Johnson. Nancy will be dining with us and offering more information on her winery and sharing a bit of her vast knowledge on Finger Lakes wine production.

This four-course meal will be one to remember! We are keeping things intimate, with our small private dining room, so tickets will be limited!

1st course:

raw virginia blackberry oysters

caviar & celery root “tartare”, fennel-pink peppercorn mignonette

Red Tail Ridge Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut 2019

2nd course:

cast iron hudson valley foie gras

crisp anson mills grit cake, country ham, charred scallion, ginger-pineapple marmalade

Red Tail Ridge Good Karma Foodbank Charity Riesling 2024

3rd course:

spiced pennsylvania duck breast

leg confit hashbrowns, cipollini onion, duck egg bearnaise, huckleberry gastrique

Red Tail Ridge Blaufrankisch 2023

4th course:

local goat cheese & meyer lemon panna cotta

olive oil-pistachio cake, poached gooseberries, candied rosemary

Red Tail Ridge Rose Pet Nat 2024