Tasting Room

Our tasting room is located on the ridge within our vineyard, providing patrons with the perfect setting in which to taste wine. The RTR tasting room staff is eager to answer any questions you have about the winery, the wine, or the vineyards.

Groups wishing to schedule a tasting during the week should email Sarah at least one week in advance to schedule an appointment.

We no longer accept buses and limos, as we have very limited parking; and due to the size of our tasting room, we are not able to accommodate groups larger than 12.

• Tasting room waste is recycled.
• Recycled paper products are utilized.
• No empty bottled water containers! Water is provided via refillable jugs (water cooler) and cups.
• Low flow toilet in restroom.

Bobby
Coming soon.

Linda
Coming soon.

Sarah
Sarah came to the Finger Lakes in 2006 and found her new work home at Red Tail Ridge in October of 2007. The most important task she has is customer service in the tasting room, pouring and selling wine. Other duties include answering the telephone and e-mail, preparing wine for shipment to customers and competition, and taking care of the perennial – shrub boarder. In her previous life she did garden design and consulting, so was very happy to have the opportunity to design and maintain the garden at Red Tail Ridge. Sarah feels Red Tail Ridge is a great place to watch Red-tailed Hawks, the seasons change and the weather as it passes over Seneca Lake.

Sharon
Coming soon.

Painter Mylette Welch was born in the sun-drenched, color saturated island of Oahu. Her family moved two years later to dusty, dry Bakersfield. "Something was missing," she remembers thinking. "Where did all the color go?" For anyone who has seen Welch's paintings, its obvious that the color went into her playful portraits of stray dogs, children, old diners, and rusty trucks.

Mylette's paintings are rooted in the Sonoma County landscape -- gas stations, famers markets, the vineyards, neighbor's gardens, old trucks, and burger stands. But occasionally her paintings veer off into a surrealistic world of dreams and memories where goldfish swim around the kitchen and accordions fly through the sky.

“I like dreams bumping against reality” she explained, comparing this juxaposition to the moment when you first wake up and your dream is “out in the room somewhere.” Her old yellow lab mix, Gus emerged as a major subject in many of her works. That will not change even though he has passed on. Her two old year old Pug, Toaster, is trying to take over for Gus. He game to her as a “divorce rescue.” A new addition to the family is baby Knuckles, wild boy Pug. Both of her dos enjoy working with Mylette in the studio.

Other dogs found their way into Mylette's works. Her grandma's dog Stubby, Bee-Bee the Shelter's round mascot, Tuna the cat, and old Floyd the neighbor dog. In time animal lovers were bringing their family members to be included in the fantasy. Once she paints a dog, he will turn up in paintings for many years to come. “There are so many dogs to paint and so little time.”

She has developed a series of paintings inspired by the question “what do dogs do late at night on the loose?” Then a series evolved when she added Barbie dolls to her dog's mouth. In these paintings, Barbie lives in a world where she dates Gus instead of Ken. Another project of interest to the artist is painting wonderful old places -- fruit stands, diners, gas stations, and honky tonks that are fast disappearing from our world. She also enjoys painting the dogs who hand around the wineries, greet guests, and protect the vineyards around Healdsburg. Mylette's work can be found in galleries and shows throughout the area and beyond. “I like to also show in alternative settings like restaurants, schools, and the dog groomer.” You may be eating dinner and see a dog and a couple of pigs grinning down at you from one of Mylette's paintings.

When she paints, Mylette said she works fast and likes to listen to really good music in the company of a sweet Pug with three shades of paint on his tail. “I try to have a good time,” she said “when people view my work I hope it makes them smile.”

The studio can be visited by appointment 707-433-7581. Website www.mylettewelch.com.

Commissions welcomed.