The Finger Lakes AVA lies five hours north of New York city, to the south of Lake Ontario & the Canadian border. The region sits on the extremity of many a wine convention:- this is seriously cool climate production made possible only by the tempering effect of the lakes and Vinifera only arrived here in the 1950s and still has to prove its worth to many farmers more used to selling hybrids to the tourist markets. Amongst the wineries and winemakers pushing to advance the region and craft wines of quality and distinction to match the best sites' potential is local Ben Riccardi. Ben brings the sensibilities of a young gun who has worked in Sonoma, New Zealand and France along with Big Apple attitude from time honing his skills at Manhattan's City Winery. Using fruit from both Seneca and Cayuga Lakes - there are 11 Lakes in total with four considered the best for winemaking and these two with their own AVAs - Ben makes low-intervention, wild-yeast wines that revel in freshness and lower alcohol. We love the lightness of touch he brings to his Chardonnays (both unoaked and with some large barrel influence), Riesling and Cab Franc. The hybrids that can often lead the region astray- along with being freezing in the winter there can be considerable pressure on vines during hot and humid summers - are focussed and original.
Osmote Apero – Dechanuac on Riesling 2023
10.5% abv
Medium red with smoky, spicy aromas and a bright, light body with cranberry flavors. A perfect wine for sipping before dinner, paired with charcuterie, and making the transition into heavier courses. Enjoy the wine with a chill.
Dechaunac ( a red skinned, French / American hybrid) is picked early in the season and undergoes a short maceration before pressing to tank. Juice is left to begin fermentation naturally, then after the later Riesling pick, the DeChaunac juice is introduced to the Riesling skins after the Riesling juice is pressed out. A red wine fermenting on white skins is born and it ferments in open top fermenters with daily punch downs for two weeks. Finally the red wine is pressed off from the skins and the resulting wine is aged in tank without oak.
Graoes from Patrician Verona Vineyard located on the western shore of Cayuga Lake has been a grape farm forthree generations. The land is gently sloping towards the lake sitting at 570ft above sea level on Cazenovia silt loam soils. These vines were planted in 1973, own rooted without grafting.
Bottled on June 5, 2024. 170 cases produced.
- Reference #:
- 22904
- Strength
- 10.5 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Dechaunac
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No

