Red Tail Ridge Winery starts using ‘green’ production facility

Photo provided by Red Tail Ridge Winery

The new green production facility at Red Tail Ridge Winery in Penn Yan, Yates County.
Red Tail Ridge Winery in Penn Yan, Yates County, on Sunday began using its new environmentally low-impact production facility for fermenting wine, co-owner Nancy Irelan says.

The 4,000-square-foot structure has several sustainable design features, including daylighting — the energy-efficient practice of drawing in natural light through strategically placed windows and reflective surfaces — and geothermal heating and cooling.

The Seneca Lake winery is seeking silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the building from the U.S. Green Building Council. Only nine buildings in the Rochester area have earned any level of LEED certification, though a few dozen have begun the process.

Green practices extend to Red Tail Ridge’s vineyards, where run-off water is collected in an irrigation pond and used during dry spells. The winery also has a permanent cover crop between the rows of grapes to improve the soil’s organic content and microbial diversity.

Irelan says she and husband Mike Schnelle are mulling more expansion plans.

“The second phase of our construction is focused on constructing a new tasting room, attached to the LEED winery,” she says. “However, it will probably be a while before we embark on that venture.”