Rack & Riddle Expands Winemaking Team & Operations

Rack & Riddle, Sonoma County’s leading custom crush wine service, has recently expanded its winemaking team in preparation for a busy 2019.  With a newly automated still wine bottling line and an automated sparkling wine facilities expansion set to be completed in Spring 2019 (more TBA next month), Rack & Riddle is expecting an exciting year in custom crush wine production. 

The winemaking team has been expanded by three employees in recent months. The team, led by award-winning Executive Winemaking Director Penelope Gadd-Coster and Head Winemaker Manveer Sandhu, is prepping for the uptick in custom-blended private-label sparkling wines sales, as well as significant demand for full production still and sparkling wine services. They’ve been training staff in advance of the expansion to accommodate their growing customer base. 
 
General Manager Mark Garaventa, says, “Rack & Riddle has experienced a major, transformative year. Our rapidly growing customer base has led us to not only expand our facilities and capabilities, but also to expand our entire team — from winemakers to production personnel. We’re ensuring we can keep up with the high demand for our premium California sparkling wines, and innovative custom crush services.”

Gadd-Coster, says, “We’re excited about the expansion. We’ve compiled a truly diverse, dedicated team. They not only bring their own unique winemaking skills and experience to our production — we are also teaching them the time-honored French Méthode Champenoise tradition of making sparkling wines, in order to pass on a unique artisanal method of making bubbly, paying it forward to future generations.”