A can't-miss pinot from former Ken Stewart's bartender, Kent State grad | Phil Your Glass

Northeast Ohio is quietly becoming a hotbed for people with California wine country passion projects.

Some names on that reputable list of locals include the late Tom Burgess and Jim Clendenen, along with Drew Neiman and Helen Keplinger, to name just a few.

And now, you can add former Ken Stewart’s bartender and 1992 Kent State University graduate Chris Ireland to the list.

Ireland, who came from a working-class background, tended bar to pay for his business degree at KSU.

"I took a trip when I was in college right before I became a bartender to visit family in the Bay Area," Ireland said. "We visited Hess and Clos Pegase in Napa. I fell in love with wine county not knowing at the time that I would end up doing it as a way of life."

Ireland was living in Highland Square while working as a bartender at Ken Stewart's Grille from 1995 to 1999 and gives much credit to Stewart and manager Gary Bush.

“[Bush] promoted me from a bartender to be a wine buyer. And then I started tasting a lot of very special wine," Ireland said. "If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be here."

During his 3 1/2 years at the iconic Market Street restaurant, Ireland assembled a wine list that was given an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. It was the first time since Ken Stewart's opened in 1990 that the restaurant had received such a prestigious award.

“He had a great pallet,” said Stewart. "We had an awesome wine list to begin with, and he refined it and filled in the weak spots."

After moving on to work several jobs in the wine industry, including with Wine Trends Inc., Billington Imports and the Click Wine Group, Ireland landed a job with Swiss winemaker and art collector Donald Hess at his prestigious Hess Collection Winery in Napa Valley.

Ireland started in 2008 as a regional manager. After 12 years, he worked his way up to vice president of eastern sales in the United States, where he built a team of 11 people calling on 30 distributors in 25 states.

The dream of owning his own wine brand led him to launch Ireland Family Wine & Spirits on February 20, 2020.

"It was one of those things where you finally overcome your fears of being an entrepreneur and you just do it and figure it out,” Ireland said. "Less than a month later came the 'Oh, shit' moment where the pandemic was clear to all of us.

"Things got quiet that summer,” he added. "I started just ahead of a pandemic."

I recently met up with Ireland, 57, in the Merriman Valley while he was pouring two of his pinot noirs for Merchant Tavern owner Anthony Piscazzi and Towpath Distillery head distiller David Sheffer. Ireland came with bottles of his $75 Santa Rita single vineyard pinot noir along with his $65 Russian River pinot noir, where the grapes are sourced from the famous Bacigalupi, Dutton and Pratt vineyards.

With pinot noir savant James McPhail hired to be the winemaker, these silky-smooth wines will definitely be a must-have bottle for any wine enthusiast. McPhail's wines have been awarded over 200 90+ scores by major wine publications.

"James McPhail had the ability to get the texture and flavor in pinot that I was looking for. He was my first call,” Ireland said as we sipped on his Russian River jewel.

“It’s a very nice wine,” Stewart said by phone. "We are looking forward to carrying it."

Since releasing the wines, Ireland has changed his strategy a bit and started to sell them for $49.99 while he introduces his new brand into the Ohio market.

While currently living in the Columbus area with his wife Amy and their two children, Ireland has been busy reconnecting with his business acquaintances and relationships in Northeast Ohio to get the word out about Ireland Family Wines. For now, he continues to commute from Bexley to Sonoma, California, to handle any winery business.

The good news is Ken Stewart’s Grille, Ken Stewart’s Lodge and Ken Stewart’s Tre Belle will be pouring the Ireland Family Russian River pinot noir for $16 per glass and $64 a bottle.

The Merchant Tavern, all Heinen's stores, Beau's Market in Copley, Papa Joe’s and Mustard Seed Market in Montrose have also picked up these wines.

Stop in at the Heinen's in Hudson from 4-6 p.m. Aug. 22 to meet Chris and sample his great wines. He will also be pouring samples at the Heinen's in Chagrin Falls from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 23 and at the Twinsburg Heinen's from noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 24.

Email me at philyourglass@gmail.com with any wine questions and follow me on Instagram @pmasturzo_philyourglas s

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: A can't-miss pinot from former Ken Stewart's bartender, Kent State grad | Phil Your Glass