Proving Pét-Nats and Hybrids Can Produce Outstanding Wines

Osmote 2021 Pét Nat

After many years traveling around the world making wine, Finger Lakes native Ben Riccardi started to feel homesick, and moved back to the area just as the region had reached a pivotal turning point. Riccardi and many others would push wine quality further than it had gone before, using new research and production methods alongside traditional varieties to make it happen.

Of course, the route to his success was not straightforward. At first, Riccardi studied chemistry at the Air Force Academy. He ended up returning to New York to study vineyard management at Cornell University and fell in love with winegrapes and winemaking. Upon graduation, he worked at local wineries on Long Island before hopping down to Chile to learn from winemakers in the Maule Valley. For years, Riccardi traveled between the two hemispheres, working one harvest after another.

“Once I had unlocked this combination of a career path, fun, learning and travel and I was excited about learning more about wine, it just all came together,” he recalled

So, after some time spent at Williams Selyem in California and Craggy Range in New Zealand, he moved to Manhattan to work at City Winery New York. And at this point, in 2013, Riccardi recognized that the Finger Lakes had reached an inflection point and wine quality was only getting better.

“I saw opportunity and I wanted to be part of it,” he recalled, thinking his experience making wine in warmer climates could be beneficial to the region. “I saw the potential here, but I also realized that maybe people weren’t doing some of the things I had learned, some of the techniques that I had learned abroad. I just got really excited about the opportunity here.”

The first vintage of his brand, Osmote, produced less than 200 cases of 2014 barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Ten years later, he’s branched out to other varieties and styles of wine, including the hybrids the Finger Lakes are known for, and has his own winemaking facility.

It hasn’t always been easy; like so many others in the region, he’s struggled with finding affordable equipment and sourcing grapes. And, producing a traditional method sparkling wine had always been out of the question—with limited storage space, keeping bottles en tirage for years was impossible. Then he learned about the pétillant naturel style, which definitely was feasible.

“When I started it, I hardly even knew what Pét-Nat was, but I learned about it pretty quickly and thought it was a really interesting opportunity,” Riccardi said. “I saw a tremendous response and it’s become a major part of my winemaking. Working with Cayuga White was a way to be totally unique, totally Finger Lakes and Pét-Nat seems absolutely the right style for that grape.”

In Cayuga White, Riccardi found not just an exceptional grape for a sparkling wine, but a little bit of history to share as well—the grape was developed at his alma mater.

When talking about the wine with consumers, Riccardi emphasizes this heritage: a grape from Cornell University that really only grows in the Finger Lakes, is sourced from a vineyard planted in 1973 and kept in the owner’s family and taps into an old tradition of New York winemakers producing mainly sparkling and fortified wines.

“That’s why I put the Spinal Tap amp dial on the front label,” he explained. “I say to people, ‘I took everything about the Finger Lakes—bracing acidity, fun hybrid, old vineyard—and I turned it up to 11 in one wine.” To ensure a crisp, clean wine, Riccardi disgorges the sparkler.

Riccardi also produces premium wines from more traditional grapes. “I take a lot of pride in making refined Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc and Riesling,” he said. “But it’s also an exploration of where we came from and where we can go with hybrids.”

Ou r Journe y B e gi ns H er e for Enh a nced Na tu ral Cork Q u ali ty

M.A . S il v a's N atu r al Cor k is vertic ally i ntegratedan d f u lly t racea ble. Once ha rvested, thecor k is treat ed usi n g M. A . Sil va 's state of t h e ar t techn ologie s , w hich f urther en hanc e t h e qu a li t y a n d e xp er ie nc e of yo ur fi na l cor k s t oppe r . We i n vi t e y ou to contac t us a nd l ear n mor e abo ut o u r na tura l cor k t od ay!