Fiadh Ruadh

Fiadh Ruadh pronounced as, fay-ah roo-ah, is a micro Napa Valley based brand focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon founded by winemaker and MW Nova Cadamatre. 2023 was her 20th harvest; her journey through the world of wine has been one filled with curiosity and a desire to learn. She began her winemaking career in Pennsylvania in 2003. She moved to New York to pursue a career in horticulture, primarily to explore her passion for growing roses. But her love of cultivating plants translated into working with vineyards and the subsequent enjoyment of producing a product which brings people together.

She decided to become a winemaker. She worked at wineries in 2004 and 2005 in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York and graduated from Cornell’s Viticulture and Enology program in 2006. She moved to California’s Central Valley followed by a move to northern California in 2009 where she worked at Chateau Souverain in Alexander Valley from 2012-2019.

Her first trip to Napa Valley was in 2004 with her now husband Brian. His grandmother had a cousin who lived in the city of Napa. Nova remembers the first time she drove up the Silverado Trail and being impressed by the spectacular beauty. She soon discovered how passion and a focus on quality is an integral part of Napa Valley. And noticing how the vineyards are the dominating agricultural crop, while in the Finger Lakes agriculture is more diversified.

Her first harvest in Napa Valley was in 2013. She worked at Robert Mondavi as red wine maker for 2 years and then became Senior Winemaker for all of Constellation’s Napa Valley properties. And she also assisted with the design of the new Robert Mondavi Winery during her time there.

Her journey towards being a Master of Wine began in 2007 after graduating from Cornell. She was attracted to pursuing this because of its intensity and difficulty associated with the program; the challenge lived up to the reputation. Like a number of now MW’s it took her several times before she was able to pass; the one attribute we value higher than almost anything else in the wine industry in particular, is persistence and a drive to never give up. She became an MW in 2017.

The roots of starting starting her own brands were when Brian asked if she would be interested in planting a vineyard. He told her his distant cousins in Messina, Sicily had a vineyard and made wine. Expecting to hear about a winery with deep roots in Italy, Brian eventually told her his cousin’s vineyard was just a couple of rows in their backyard with the grapes used for making home wine every year.

For Nova, the most rewarding part of the wine business is intimately being involved with all aspects of the operations including growing grapes, and ultimately producing a product that people enjoy.

They named their brand Trestle 31 in homage to a prominent railroad trestle seen from part of their property near the shore of Seneca Lake. And the 31 was the name on the original deed for their property. While not yet owning a physical winery, the wines have been made at Foxrun Vineyards but are now produced at Red Newt Cellars.

Trestle 31 focuses on premium vinifera wines from the region; the wines both elevate and push the boundaries of what is possible in the Finger Lakes region in terms of both viticulture and winemaking. She calls Trestle 31 her ‘avant garde brand’. Nova pointed out that climate in the Finger Lakes is vastly different than Napa Valley. As a ‘flying winemaker’ she makes wine for her own brands on both coasts which sometimes has advantages. For example when numerous producers didn’t make wine or made less wine during the smoke filled 2020 vintage in Napa Valley, 2020 was a great year in the Finger Lakes. The Trestle 31 tasting lounge opened in Geneva, NY in 2021.

The wines are sold both direct through visits, the website or are available through limited distribution at restaurants and retail shops in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

And keeping the label design all in the family, its based on a drawing by Nova’s mother, artist Linda Williams McCune. Brian’s sister, illustrator Katie Cadamatre provided the creative assistance.

The inaugural vintage of Fiadh Ruadh was in 2018, however no wine was produced in 2019, 2020 and 2021; production resumed with the 2022 vintage and moving forward from 2024, the plan is to continue to produce a tiny amount each year. While homebase for Nova and Brian is in New York, Nova ‘commutes’ to Napa Valley as needed for Fiadh Ruadh as well as several clients.

The name Fiadh Ruadh refers to an untamed red deer in Scotch Gaelic, an appropriate homage to her ‘leaping off the cliff’ and going out on her own. Both she and Brian have Scottish heritage so the name is also nod to their own roots. And recognizing the silent letters in Gaelic cause problems with pronunciation, she conveniently posts how to pronounce the name on the back of every bottle.

In 2020 Nova founded and became the winemaker for Snowshell Vineyards with the wines exclusively sold through Naked Wines. She is the only New York winemaker for Naked Wines; she is a brand ambassador for both the region but also for the Snowshell wines.

Select Wines
Fiadh Ruadh
The 2022 Fiadh Ruah Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Napa Valley is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the immediately engaging bouquet reveals aromas of red cherry, red cassis, dark raspberry, baked plums and a very light kiss of sweet baking spices. The palate is brighter than expected based on it’s fruit driven aromatics. It offers flavors of red cherry, Santa Rosa plum, currant, dark raspberries and a light herbal note on the finish. Lingers tart, bright and refreshing. Features a crunchy acidity. This is not the typical overripe Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley common to this particular vintage. 2022 was especially challenging due to the extended heat spike centered around Labor Day weekend. Rather, this is a food friendly and a surprisingly elegant and refined Cabernet Sauvignon from this part of Napa Valley. The tannins are lightly grainy, fully coating but are well integrated in their youth. This could very well be one of the most cellar worthy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings from this vintage.

The 2018 Fiadh Ruadh Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District Napa Valley is 100% varietal. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is immediately expressive, including scents of plum, blackberry, cherry and boysenberry with accompanying notes of old cedar box, petrichor, and pipe tobacco, and a light kiss of dessert spices including cocoa powder and espresso. The bouquet is fresh and youthful. On the palate there are flavors of dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry and assorted dried dried herbs including sage. Nova appreciates the texture of dark chocolate and cocoa powder and strives to showcase the feel of tannins in a similar grain. The texture of this wine features a density of tannins but they are presented as chalky, with a polished and fine-grained character accompanied by a lingering dusty grip. And a note of dried tobacco leaf. Savory. Regardless of age, we wish all hillside Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines were this balanced. It drinks very well by itself; for reference we tasted this wine 6 years post vintage.

Only 720 bottles were produced from the 2018 vintage; all aged in several Taransaud barrels. In autumn 2024 Fiadh Ruadh released the 2022 vintage which also has a similar production to the 2018 bottling. Nova hand-labels all the wines.

She was sure the 2013 vintage in Napa Valley would be the best vintage she ever made until she produced the 2018. The 2018 red wines in general have the density and concentration of the 2013 bottlings but are more approachable in terms of texture.

Texture is an extremely important character in Nova’s winemaking, particularly in her red wines. She crafts the wines so that consumers can drink and enjoy them from merely 10 minutes after purchase to being able to age them for several decades. Every year she strives to capture not only the vintage but also the characteristics of the vineyard. Her goal as winemaker is to translate, but also emphasize what she was given that year and produce the best wine possible. One might call her the ‘grape whisperer’; from the perspective of what is in the glass, she doesn’t want you to ever know she was there.

Trestle 31 Chardonnay
The 2022 Trestle 31 Chardonnay (Nutt Road Vineyard) is pale yellow in color; an immediate burst of spring and tropical white florals envelops the glass after opening including of honeysuckle, orange blossom and star jasmine. Additional scents include nectarine, white peach, apricot, walnut skin, pineapple guava, ripe Golden delicious apple, passion fruit, honey and pineapple. We love Chardonnay that expresses itself fully offering multiple layers; the more words we use to describe aromatic characteristics, often the more interesting we find the wine. Bright and minerally, the palate offers flavors of red apple, pear, mandarin orange, apricot and Golden kiwi. This wine is perfectly straddled between flavor, acidity and texture (lightly creamy) – summed up in one word: balanced. It went through full malolactic fermentation and was then aged sur lie for 14 months in barrel with battonge conducted twice a week, not by a metal stirring rod, but by rolling the barrels on racks with built in rollers. The inspirational quote listed on the back of this bottle is from Eleanor Roosevelt, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”.

The 2021 Trestle 31 Chardonnay Nutt Vineyard (they source from the same rows each year); this wine is medium gold in color. On nose there are aromas of sundried yellow tomatoes, dried apricots, tortilla chips or cornmeal, a light note of bruised apples, white nectarines and bosc pear. We love digging deep into our sensory library when it comes to wines we taste that is not from Napa Valley. This wine’s texture is supple and silken, flowing seamlessly across the palate like running one’s fingers over a soft and thick cashmere sweater. Balanced with a soft acidity; its flavors include golden delicious apple, pear, white nectarine, apricot, white peach and pineapple guava. For reference, we tasted this 4 years post vintage and it is in a sweet spot right now, but should age well for another 5-10 years. Pair this with Mexican food; perhaps with fish tacos or chorizo. This wine went through full malolactic fermentation and was aged sur lie for 11 months, with the lees agitated by rolling the barrels biweekly on ‘roller racks’.

Trestle 31 Riesling
The 2020 Trestle 31 Riesling (from Zugibe Vineyard) is medium golden in color; the perfume driven bouquet offers an intriguing union of both lemon and a very light note of petrol that this variety often expresses, especially as it ages. There are also notes of dried apricot, white florals, and red apple. The palate is brightly lit with flavors of white nectarines, comise pear, cantaloupe, Golden delicious apple, lemon curds, dried apricot, tangerine, mandarin orange, loquat and ripe kumquat. It dances across the palate with both a youthfulness and a grace. The finish lingers with a bright, palate cleansing character supported by both its acidity and citrus driven flavors. We would love to drink this following one of Napa Valley’s more robust and intense Cabernet Sauvignons. This wine was aged sur lie for 4 months before racking and then aged in bottle for 14 months prior to release.

The 2022 Trestle 31 Riesling Zugibe Vineyard (this is the last vintage from this vineyard). This wine is pale yellow in color; the attractive and distinctive bouquet offers aromas of apple skin, walnut husk, guava, white thyme and white pepper. Balanced, bright and delicious. On the palate there are flavors of white nectarine, dried apricot, dried thyme, fully ripe pomelo, grapefruit and red delicious apple. It mouth feel is founded and supple but not creamy. The finish is brightly lit and refreshing with a long and satisfying finish. This wine is fully ripe at its 12% listed alcohol. It was fermented slow and cold in a small stainless tank and was then aged on its gross lees until prior to bottling.

The 2022 Trestle 31 Riesling Zugibe Vineyard Demi Sec is 2.07% residual sugar; this varies slightly depending on vintage, based on the botrytis conditions. This wine smells like the variety; the nose offers an assortment of dried herbs including white sage, thyme and rosemary with a light but early developing note of petrol that doesn’t always express itself this early in the Trestle 31 Rieslings. Other aromas include nectarine, apricot, peach, apple skin and star jasmine. As the wine evolves, the stone fruits become more dominating. Off dry, the sugar complements the bright acidity; the palate reveals flavors of pineapple guava, white nectarine, pineapple, tangerine. The finish persists with loads of flavor.

Trestle 31 Study Sketch
The 2023 Trestle 31 Riesling, Study Sketch Series (Gibson Vineyard) is deep gold in color, appearing slightly hazy as it was obviously not fined or filtered. The grapes were hand harvested including picking about 10-15% of the bunches infected with varying degrees of botrytis. This wine was fermented with indigenous yeast in Acacia barrels and hand bottled, corked and labeled. Only 14 cases were produced. The bouquet is highly distinctive offering aromas of kombucha, starfruit, cut grass, mandarin peel, loquat, fermenting fruits, apple juice, and an herbal note reminding us slightly of juniper berry. The herbal character on the bouquet is mirrored on the palate along with some citrus influences including tangerine and grapefruit pith accompanied by loquat, green apple and horned melon. The texture is rounded and complemented by a bright but balanced acidity. Get geeky with this bottling, it strays far from mainstream winemaking. If a particular bottle of wine were the equivalent to a particular wine shop in Napa Valley, this would clearly be Decant Napa (formerly home to Bay Grape). The quote on the back of this bottle is by Anthony Bourdain, and is appropriate verbiage considering this wine. It reads, “That without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, moribund.” This wine is a refreshing 12% alcohol.

Nova describes vintages in the Finger Lakes as either being wet, dry or classic. 2020, unlike in Napa Valley was a classic winemaking vintage with both concentrated fruit and freshness. And there was no pressure from botrytis. Nova calls the Riesling she produced this year, a wine that shows the purity of the variety. And Riesling has been the flagship wine of Trestle 31 since its inaugural vintage of 2015.

The 2024 Trestle 31 Study Sketch Series White Pinot was direct to press resulting in a very light straw color; the bouquet offers plenty of zest and zip. Its scents include pineapple guava, pear, Babcock peach, white nectarine and some herbal hints including of lemongrass, citrus blossom and kaffir lime. Brightly lit, the palate features lots of energy; its flavors include pomelo, grapefruit, guava, green apple and white nectarine. Lingers with a light herbal note including of dill. We would love to pair this with seafood; perhaps with grilled halibut, freshly shucked oysters or clams in wine and lemon sauce. Warm springtime wine. Lovely. This is one of their most ‘mainstream’ Study Sketch bottlings to date.

Trestle 31 Rosé
The 2024 Trestle 31 Rosé of Cabernet Franc is from the Simons Keua Buff Vineyard. Prior to bottling, 6% stainless steel fermented Riesling and a dollop of Chardonnay fermented in neutral French oak were added to the final blend. This wine is medium salmon in color; bright and fresh, it offers scents of red delicious apple, raspberries, strawberry, watermelon jolly rancher and ripe Sierra Nevada gooseberry. Its aromatics are highly appealing, especially from this particular vintage. On the palate there are flavors of strawberry, pomegranate, red delicious apple and Asian pear. The finish lingers with a light note of tarragon. Like the previous vintage, texturally this wine features a soft and creamy character but doesn’t show quite as bright as the 2023 vintage. Over 30 blending trials were conducted prior to creating the final blend.

The 2023 Trestle 31 Rosé of Cabernet Franc is from the Simons Keua Buff Vineyard. This wine was created from a quick press of Cabernet Franc with 5% Chardonnay blended in prior to bottling. This wine is pale salmon in color; the bouquet is immediately elegant offering aromas of dried rose petals, citrus blossom, raspberries, strawberries, dried orange peel and grapefruit zest. Superbly balanced, on the palate there are flavors of raspberry, currant, pomegranate and strawberry. Lingers with a light note of white pepper, dried thyme and dill including this herbs resulting ‘sweetness’. Shows a softness of texture, which is balanced nicely by a bright and refreshing acidity. Lingers mouth watering.

Trestle 31 Reds
The 2022 Trestle 31 Cabernet Franc is 100% varietal (Simmons Vineyard) and is their inaugural vintage of this variety. The wine is medium ruby in color; the bouquet is a union of both red fruits and a brooding and savory character. These aromas include dried tomatoes, damp potting soil, white pepper, granite rock, library book, smoked sage, dried rosemary, tobacco spice and red plums, red cherries, dried berries, licorice and assorted bramble. The palate offers flavors of dried herbs including sage, dried tobacco leaf, tea leaf, currant, cranberry, sour cherries and a lingering herbal note. Features a lithe texture of lightly grainy tannins, a balanced but buoyant acidity and a gamey and white pepper spice driven finish. This wine initially fermented using indigenous yeasts with commercial yeast added to finish fermentation once the brix was below 14. It was aged for 18 months in 5 French oak barrels of which one was new. Would love to pair this with BBQ quail or pheasant, birds we were introduced in our youth as one of our uncles used to hunt them in the far reaches of northern California.

Trestle 31 Tasting Salon, Geneva NY
The Trestle 31 tasting salon is located in downtown Geneva and is housed in a building dating from 1890. Nova and her husband own this building. The building has been occupied by numerous businesses over the years including as a bike shop and a tattoo parlor. The basement, lovingly called ‘the dungeon” houses some of their wines. And the building offers an AirBnB loft upstairs complete with a private rooftop patio. A stay here is within easy walking distance of numerous restaurants and other wine focuses spaces. And a short walk from the shores of Seneca Lake. As of mid 2025, the building is for sale.

The salon includes several semi-private rooms for seated tastings with additional seating at the entrance. Drawings by Nova’s mother Linda are on display including of the Trestle 31 railroad crossing and other vineyard related pieces. Linda is based in South Carolina; her works include both drawings and sculptures and draw upon her family ties to Tennessee. She has also created a number of public commissions, primarily on display in parts of South Carolina. And her works are in numerous private collections across the country.

Trestle 31 Tasting Salon

Trestle 31 Namesake

Nova and Brian own a 12-acre property along the shores of Seneca Lake, about a 10 minute drive from the Trestle 31 tasting salon. This will be the future home of the Trestle 31 Winery and vineyards. It is located close to other established vineyards including bordering the 200+ acre Zugibe Vineyard property and a short drive from Three Brothers Wineries & Estates. The Trestle 31 site is within visual distance of the namesake Trestle 31 which crosses over E. Lake Road.

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Those interested in trying the limited production bottlings of Fiadh Ruadh can request an allocation via the website and Nova will respond directly. An allocation allows those on the list to also be notified when new releases are available. Locally the wine has been at ACME in St. Helena and Bounty Hunter in the city of Napa. And until they permanently closed in 2025, we had seen select Trestle 31 wines at NO|MA House Café and Collective in St. Helena. For more information and to request an allocation, visit: www.fiadhruadh.com