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Breathless Featured in Taste California Travel

By Liz Thach

Do you enjoy sparkling wine? If so, consider scheduling a visit to Breathless Winery in Sonoma County, California.

As part of our continuing series on supporting local wineries during COVID by scheduling safe visits to winery tasting rooms, a small group of us ventured to the town of Healdsburg where Breathless is located. There we were greeted with a flutes of delicious bubbly wine, potato chip appetizers and a sabering demonstration with a sword.

Breathless Wines Famous Even in France

[Liz Sharon and Fiona Prepare to saber Picmonkey] Liz, Sharon and Fiona select a bottle to saber I first heard of Breathless several years ago when the 2012 Breathless Brut won the top Sweepstakes Award in the Sonoma County Harvest Fair as well as several other competitions, where I was doing blind wine judging. This was quite amazing, because the winery had just opened in 2011, and their first vintage was already stealing all of the awards. They have continued this winning streak, winning 13 medals and a Best of Show with their most recent releases in 2019.

Even more surprising is when I mentioned Breathless Wines to some winemakers in France, and they said that most of the wine industry in France knew Breathless very well, and were especially impressed with the three sisters, Sharon, Rebecca and Cynthia, who started the winery and their famous winemaker, Penny Gadd-Coster. Penny has long been known as a super star in the California wine industry. With more than 30 years of winemaking experience, including stints at Jordan, J Winery, Forenzo Vineyards, and Rack & Riddle, where Breathless is located, Penny was rightly named “Winemaker of the Year” for Napa, Sonoma, and the greater Bay Area by the North Bay Business Journal.

Not a Chateau – Housed in Industrial Warehouse

Wearing masks, we arrived at Breathless Wines for our 11am appointment and were greeted by Sharon Cohn, whose business card reads, “Sister 1 of 3.” The winery tasting room is a small, cozy building nestled next to a large industrial complex of three huge warehouse buildings that house Rack & Riddle – the famous custom crush business that makes sparkling and still wine for many wineries in Napa and Sonoma. Indeed, all of the Breathless wines are made here as well.

What makes a visit to Breathless so enticing is not only the wine, but the beautiful outdoor garden with shaded tables, flowering shrubs and tall fir trees that spread out from the tasting room. This is also ideal for COVID outdoor tastings, as the seating areas are more than 6 feet apart.

Wearing a mask, Sharon invited us to take a seat in a large gazebo in the center of the garden. We were pleased to see a small welcome sign for our group, along with crystal Champagne flutes, small bowls of potato chips (one of the best pairings with all types of wine due to the salt and crunch), and a bottle of Breathless Brut chilling in a silver ice bucket.

The Story of Breathless and Its Beautiful “Lady on a Flying Cork” Label

As we sipped the beautiful Brut sparkling wine and nibbled on potato chips, Sharon told us the story of Breathless Winery. She and her other two sisters, Rebecca and Cynthia, decided to start the winery to honor their mother who had passed away from Alpha-1, a disease that makes it hard to breathe. This was also an inspiration for the name “Breathless,” along with its double meaning of something so beautiful it leaves you breathless. Today they donate money from wine sales each year to Alpha-1 Foundation, as well as other non-profits.

All three sisters have impressive backgrounds in finance, business strategy, hospitality and wine, so starting the winery was based on passion for wine and family. They decided to focus on sparkling wine, made in the traditional methode Champenoise, where secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle, producing delicate bubbles and fresh exciting wines to celebrate life.

Sharon described how they decided to use the “Lady on a Flying Cork” from a 1920’s Champagne poster for their label. “We were working with a graphic designer who told us we should put a picture of our ‘chateau’ on the label, but we laughed because we make our wine in this warehouse.” She gestured to the large aluminum sided building behind her. “However, we found this great old poster of the lady on the flying cork and decided to use this. We pay a royalty to the artist for every bottle sold.”

A Tasting of Five Breathless Sparkling Wines with a Sword Demonstration

In total, we tasted five Breathless Sparkling wines, each made in the traditional method with aging 2 to 3 years in bottle as non-vintage wines. They all had very distinctive personalities.

Breathless Brut – 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, inviting red cherry notes with lemon zest and tiny bubbles. Received 98 points in the 2019 Harvest Challenge ($27)

Breathless Blanc de Blanc – 100% Chardonnay, fresh pear and lemon with hints of toast and minerality; great complexity, with a zippy refreshing finish. ($34)

Breathless Rosé – 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay, fruit forward and voluptuous with ripe cherry cordial notes, and hint of sweetness on the finish. ($33)

Breathless Blanc de Noirs – 93% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Meunier, sophisticated and complex with toasty brioche and lemon brûlée notes – delicious! Sweepstakes Wine at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. ($32)

Breathless Moscato – 98% Muscat Canelli, 2% Chardonnay, perfumed floral nose of honeysuckle with spice and honeydew notes on palate with slightly sweet finish. A perfect brunch or appetizer wine. ($29)

[Fiona and Liz toast at Breathless 2 Picmonkey] Fiona and Liz toast to a successful sabering and the wines of Breathless

When we arrived at the Blanc de Noirs, Sharon invited one of us to “saber” the bottle with a sword. This is an ancient tradition from Europe of breaking a Champagne bottle using a saber (sword). It was popularized by Napoleon’s cavalries to celebrate a victory. The French term is sabrage. Since I had already done this several times in the past, I encouraged Fiona to try it (Fiona Fang is a graduate student in Sonoma State’s MBA program in Wine Business). Sharon showed her what to do, and after donning gloves and eyeglasses for protection, Fiona deftly sabered the bottle and then poured from it into our glasses. 

Meeting with the Famous Breathless Winemaker – Penny Gadd-Coster

We were honored when Penny Gadd-Coster, the award-winning winemaker of Breathless Wines and Director of Winemaking for Rack & Riddle, stopped by our table to chat with us for a few minutes. Penny explained that they make around 20,000 cases of Breathless sparkling wine each year, and that is it sold and shipped to more than 25 states. She also described the impressive size of Rack & Riddle, which produces around 1.7 million cases of sparking and still wine for many different wineries. With more than 70 employees and two locations, Penny has a huge winemaking empire to oversee. However, her true love is making sparkling wine, and the exquisite taste of Breathless wines is a true tribute to her skill and artistry as a world-class winemaker.

Click HERE to read this article from the Taste California Travel website.

Wine Stars Blog: A Breathless Experience: My First Time Breaking A Wine Bottle With a Saber

Wine Stars Blog:

A Breathless Experience: My First Time Breaking A Wine Bottle With a Saber

July 28, 2020 / fangfiona

Have you seen a champagne or sparkling wine bottle being broken open with a saber? I have not, until I was very lucky to have a chance to try it at Breathless Wines, known for their traditional method (the original method for making Champagne) sparkling wine in Healdsburg when Dr. Thach and our group visited!

What is Sabering?

A saber is a type of sword with a curved blade associated with light cavalry in the early modern and Napoleonic periods. The technique of breaking open a champagne bottle using a saber, called “sabrage”, was popularized after the French Revolution, when Napoleon’s cavalries celebrated their victory by using sabers to open champagne bottles.

Safety First!

For someone who has never held a saber, let alone cut a bottle open with one, it can be quite intimidating. Luckily, Breathless has very careful protocols guided by their friendly experts. I was led by Sharon, one of the Founding Sisters of Breathless Wines. The “Saberer” first puts on protective heavy-duty gloves and safety goggles. Because of Covid-19, an extra pair of disposable gloves are worn before the heavy-duty gloves, and of course, I was masked up like everyone else. Also, using a cold bottle makes it easier to break.

Power Pose

Having the correct posture helps to wield power. To start, Sharon demonstrated how to stand sideways, almost like an archer, and hold the body (where the label sits) using my non-dominant hand. Of course, the bottle must be pointed far away from anyone – everyone needed to stand back!

Learning The Technique

Next, Sharon demonstrated the actual technique of holding the saber, and how to strike the bottle. With the saber in hand, the blade sits at an angle to the bottle, and I took a few turns running the blade along the bottle towards the lip, which is the breakage point.

Blast off!

Finally, the wire cage was taken off as an extra step to make it easier. Shortly after the demo, I was ready. My hand went faster than I was mentally prepared and POP! Went the top. I did not apply much force, and it felt a lot smoother than expected. Indeed, I read later that it is simply the force applied at a fragile point of the bottle – with already much internal pressure – that breaks it. Some wine was lost, but I held it up in victory, still shocked at what happened just seconds ago. I was relieved no one was hurt!

Serving the Wine

What good is opening a wine if you can’t enjoy it? After sabering, make sure to check for shards before serving. We all got to enjoy a fresh glass afterwards!

Breathless Wines awards every Saberer with a “Certificate of Completion”, and the cork sealed with their signature Breathless label. I am really grateful for such an unforgettable experience, and hope to lose less wine next time!

Try it Yourself!

For more information and to schedule this exciting Sabrage Experience, please click here:
/Visit-Us/Sabrage-Experience

18 Gold Medals for Breathless in 2020! (so far...)

Breathless Wines have earned top medals in the most prestigious competitions in the country so far and 2020 is not over yet! Here are the highlights:

Blanc de Noirs

Sweepstakes Winner – Best Sparkling – 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Platinum Medal & 95 Points – 2020 Winemaker’s Challenge

Double Gold & 95 Points – 2020 International Women’s Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 91 Points – 2020 American Fine Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 91 Points – 2020 Critics’ Challenge Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 90 Points – 2020 Monterey International Wine Competition

Blanc de Blancs

Best of Show – 2020 Sonoma International Film Festival

Double Gold & 92 Points – 2020 American Fine Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 92 Points – 2020 International Women’s Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 91 Points – 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition

Brut

Double Gold Medal – 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Double Gold & 90 Points – 2020 American Fine Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 92 Points – 2020 Critics’ Challenge Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 90 Points – 2020 International Women’s Wine Competition

Sparkling Brut Rose

Gold Medal & 91 Points – 2020 Critics’ Challenge Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 91 Points – 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 90 Points – 2020 International Women’s Wine Competition

Gold Medal & 90 Points – 2020 Monterey International Wine Competition

Breathless Featured in Modern Luxury Magazine!

Breathless Sparkling Wines Featured on Marla Meridith's Lifestyle Blog

As seen in the July 4th edition of Marla Meridith's Lifestyle Blog.

Read the Original Blog Post.

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! We are popping the cork and getting our celebration on with @breathlesswines 

We love trying new wines and we are thrilled to share Breathless with you. Perfect to quench summer thirst. Breathless has 5 sparkling wines to choose from: Blanc de Blancs, Brut, Blanc de Noirs, Brut Rosé and Sparkling Moscato. Elegant, crisp bubbly at a very fair price point. Their goal is “bringing bubbles to all!” Produced in the traditional méthode Champenoise which is a process involving secondary fermentation in the bottle. This is how Champagne is produced, but any bubbly made ouside the Champagne region of France cannot be labeled as such. So what that means is you are getting a similar experience made in the USA.

I’m a fan of Brut (dry) sparkling wines and Breathless has nailed this with their wine! The label is owned by three sisters and the winemaker is a female too. Sharon Cohn, Rebecca Faust, and Cynthia Faust are sisters who grew up in Northern California. The Breathless label was launched to honor their mother who passed away from a rare lung disease. The wines are such a beautiful tribute to her. 

They are seeing great success with their wines and were just featured in Forbes! They offer a Sparkling Society membership club which is a GREAT way to have bubbly delivered directly to your door. Thank you to Breathless for introducing me to your delicious sparkling wine. If you are looking to taste Breathless Wines they have a Sparkling Summer Bundle to check out. Just $49 for a 2-pack bundle.

Breathless Featured in Forbes Magazine!

Wine-Loving Sisters With A Bubbly, ‘Breathless’ Mission

Kim Westerman, Senior Contributor, Wine & Travel

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Sharon Cohn, Rebecca Faust, and Cynthia Faust are sisters who grew up in Northern California with a mother who loved adventure. Their childhoods were filled with hikes to spectacular vistas and road trips up and down the coast. Their idyllic summers came into stark relief when their beloved mother was diagnosed with a rare lung disease that would take her life in 2008 — and the three sisters were inspired to create a sparkling wine brand in her honor. Flash forward to 2015 when the “Breathless” label was launched. The winery has just reopened its Healdsburg tasting room after the Covid-19 closure, and guests can now visit (by appointment only) to taste through a nuanced portfolio of sparkling wines (and several still wines, to boot).

Sister Rebecca was no stranger to the wine industry. In 2007, she had co-founded Rb Wine Associates, LLC – now known as Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services in Hopland — which her mother was able to witness just before she died. When Rack & Riddle was relocated to Healdsburg, there was a small piece of land adjacent to the warehouse that was reserved for the burgeoning Breathless concept, now an outdoor garden area and tasting room made of four shipping containers. Cynthia brought in her expertise in finance and operations, and Breathless was born.

Is it a coincidence that this women-owned company also has a woman winemaker? Well, yes and no. Sharon says, “We just kept hiring those we thought were the best fit and most talented to fill our needed roles. We are very pleased and proud that so many of our key roles are filled with talented and inspiring women.” She had seen the rise of women in the California wine industry as early as 1984, when her husband Bruce Cohn, founder of B.R. Cohn, hired Helen Turley as the property’s first winemaker. Breathless winemaker, Penny Gadd-Coster, who was mentored by André Tchelistcheff of Jordan Winery (where she worked for 13 years), learned the art and science of méthode champenoise, which she applies to Breathless wines today with grapes sourced from Carneros, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, and Mendocino County.

What about the wines themselves? Besides the meticulous sourcing and vinification process, which results in a range of crisp, elegant sparkling wines — blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, rosé, brut, and Moscato — this brand is joyous and playful, as represented by the label, a 1915 English magazine illustration for a story about Champagne.

Gadd-Coster didn’t set out to be a renegade, but Breathless wines are, in fact, disruptive in terms of their departure from brands in the male-dominated wine industry. Stylistically, she strives for a cross between the elegance of France and fruit of California, and her chief mission she describes as “bringing bubbles to all.” And it’s refreshing — literally — to discover a wine brand that consciously creates a lineup and a space that is woman-centered.

Breathless sparking wines are excellent with seafood and other classic pairings, and both the rosé and blanc de noirs can stand up to foods with a little spice. The brut and blanc de blancs are ideal with raw oysters and delicate crudo and sushi preparations. Make an appointment to visit the tasting room here.

Read the full article on Forbes.com HERE.

The History and Inventor of Brut Champagne - By Rebecca Rosenberg

Do you know who invented dry Brut Champagne?

By Rebecca Rosenberg

Today, Breathless Brut is Breathless Wines’ most popular sparkling wine. But did you know that until 1870, champagne was sweeter than the sweetest dessert wines we have today?

In 1858, Madame Pommery was a French widow with no experience making wine, yet took over her husband’s winery that produced red wine. She immediately switched to making sparkling wine, twice as difficult and painstaking as still wine. She’d gone to school in England and knew the English preference for dry (still) wine. Madame Pommery began to experiment with making dry brut champagne, which proved even riskier because grapes needed to stay on the vine longer in order to ripen with a natural sweetness…whereas other champagne makers could disguise premature grapes by adding more sugar.

Madame Pommery’s clients rejected her first few years of dry champagne, but she persisted. And, the 1874 vintage of Pommery Brut was so delicious and sought after, the English immortalized it in a popular song: Ode to Pommery!

Breathless raises a glass of Breathless Brut to Madame Pommery who steered the world’s taste in sparkling wine from sweet to dry.

For more on my CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS novels:

https://www.rebecca-rosenberg.com

Breathless Brut’s fine mousse fills the palate with a light, refreshing effervescence. Enjoy tropical notes of guava and pineapple with citrus highlights and just a hint of yeast. The finish is smooth and satisfying. 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir.  Aged 24 months.

98 POINTS , BEST OF SHOW, BEST SPARKLING, BEST OF SONOMA,
DOUBLE GOLD & BEST OF CLASS - 2019 Harvest Challenge
90 POINTS - "Lively and Refreshing!" - Wine Enthusiast Magazine, August 2020
90 POINTS & DOUBLE GOLD - 2020 American Fine Wine Competition
93 POINTS - 2019 North Coast Wine Challenge
92 POINTS - 2019 American Fine Wine Competition
GOLD MEDAL, 91 Points - 2019 Sunset International Wine Competition
GOLD MEDAL, 90 Points -  2019 Orange County Fair Wine Competition
91 POINTS- 2019 North Coast Wine Challenge
92 POINTS - 2019 American Fine Wine Competition

Three 90-Point Scores for Breathless from Wine Enthusiast Magazine!

In the upcoming August issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine - Breathless will be featured with three great scores!

90 POINTS -  Breathless NV Brut Rosé Méthode Champenoise (Sonoma County).
A delicate pink hue, this sparkling wine is heady and flavorful in strawberry and peach
tones. Dry and stony in texture, it is nuanced and elegant, with refreshing acidity. —V.B.

90 POINTS -  Breathless NV Brut Méthode Champenoise (Sonoma County).
Golden in color, with a firm mousse, this lively, refreshing sparkling wine tastes of apple skin,
pear, mango, and a hint of brioche. It remains fresh in the glass, showing moderate
body weight and finishing stony and dry. —V.B.

90 POINTS - Breathless NV Blanc de Blancs (full review text to come).

The Bubbly You Can Use Right Now - Amy Reily

Sparkling wines that are for more than special occasions
Woman on Wine with Amy Reiley

When the going gets tough, the tough drink bubbly. Isn’t that how the saying’s supposed to go?

My consumption of sparkling wine is on the rise. In fact, there’s been a steady rise in consumption of bubbles in my house since the middle of March. And I haven’t just stuck to Champagne. No, I am an equal opportunity drinker of sparkling wines.

Bubbly from around the world

You see, Champagne is a region, not an endorsement. I know some drinkers are confused as to whether anything sparkling that isn’t labeled as Champagne is worth drinking. But there are pleasures to be found from bubbles around the world.

The Italians have their Proseccos. (Check out Annette Tomei’s review of a Prosecco that’s “more than a brunch wine.”) Spain’s Cavas represent some of the best values in bubbly in the world. Much of the New World, including the United States and Canada, makes delicious sparkling wines. (Did you know that there’s world-class sparkling wine to be found on  Long Island? Check out my review of Sparkling Pointe.) Even South Africa is in on the act, making delightfully effervescent wines called méthode Cap Classique.

Here are just a few of the empty bottles of bubbly that currently line my shelf. All of them were obtained by delivery during these past few, difficult months, so I know they’re wines you can “go out” and buy without ever leaving your home.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and drink your fill of sparkling wines.

My Sparkling Wine Recommendations

Breathless Blanc de Noirs, Sonoma County CA 

[Breathless Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine] I love surprises and this pleasant surprise showed up on my doorstep as a thank you gift, so this bottle of bubbly received high marks before I ever popped the cork! Of course, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Breathless is a relative newcomer on the sparkling wine market, but they’ve racked up more awards than some veteran Champagne houses. The Blanc de Noir is a pastel pink wine with doughy, brioche aromas and sweet berry flavors that weigh on the mid-palate. It’s the kind of bubbly that makes you anxious for the next sip.

Click HERE for the article online.

Rack & Riddle Women Making History at Sonoma County Winery

Rack & Riddle Women Making History at Sonoma County Winery

Healdsburg, Calif. (March 23, 2020) — The spirit of Women’s History Month is to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions by women in history, culture and society. The month-long dedication not only pays homage to the women who walked before us to fight for equal rights, it’s also a time to celebrate women growing up and moving up, in this era of equal opportunities. 2020 marks 100 years since the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was officially ratified, giving women the right to vote — a feat even more meaningful, considering the U.S. is in the midst of a Presidential election year contest. 

Rack & Riddle is honoring their own special team of women this month. The Winery is the leading custom sparkling wine producer in the nation, and the women on the team work tirelessly in their daily efforts to hold that coveted spot. They are also simultaneously bringing women to the forefront of the wine industry.

The Women of Rack & Riddle

[Rebecca Faust, Co-Founder | Managing Partner] Historically, Rack & Riddle has always been a very progressive, forward-thinking company. In general, the Wine Industry is traditionally male-dominated. Rack & Riddle is a unique example of a company breaking that mold. Women currently fill 36% of the key roles at R&R — from production to winemaking. 

Co-founder Rebecca Faust is a wine-industry veteran of more than 30 years. Ever humble, Rebecca never likes having the spotlight shined in her direction. However, in the spirit of Women’s History Month, Faust says, “Our Winery is truly unique in so many ways. Not only does our winery lead in a very niche marketplace creating custom crush Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines, we also have a very diverse body of employees who make it all happen day-to-day. Our vision wasn’t necessarily to be a female-led Winery, because we believe in the empowerment of all employees. But being part of a company where women are encouraged to excel is truly the icing on the cake. We are proud they represent a strong force on our team.”

Tenacious Women on the Production Line

Rack & Riddle is a fully automated winery and production facility. Its stellar production crew has 18 women — or 30% of the Winery’s overall production crew. These women work in various roles, typically dominated by men, such as: Forklift driving, automated bottling-line operations and maintenance, wine lab work, quality control, and much more. 

Production work isn’t for the timid. Here is what a few of them have to say about their roles on the production line:

 

Evelia Carlino Vargas
Line Operator
Years with Rack & Riddle: 4
 
I manage the still wine labeling line. I setup and oversee the change-out of the many labels/brands we produce, along with handling the automatic case packer and the glue for the labeler. I really like my job, and I enjoy working in production,” says Carlino Vargas.

 

Agustina Cuenca
Disgorging line Operator
Years with Rack & Riddle: 6

I make sure that the disgorging line is running, including the disgorger/doser, corker, wirehooder, agitator and washer/dryer. I also work the tirage bottling line, as well as other areas of production.” Ceunca says about working production at Rack & Riddle, “It’s my first production job. It’s been a great experience. I love to work at Rack & Riddle because of the opportunities the company has given me."

 

Veronica Jimenez
QC – Quality Control
Years with Rack & Riddle: 7

“I do quality control, ensuring all the labels are correct, and the height of the wine is correct in each bottle. I also check the O2 (oxygen) and CO2 (Sulphur) levels in the lab. I love working at Rack & Riddle, and with my crew — we all get along very well. Every morning, I’m happy to get up and come here — even at 4 a.m.,” says Jimenez. She starts her shift at 4 a.m. daily when automated production gets into full-swing.

 

Maria Orozco
Cellar Worker
Years with Rack & Riddle: 4

“I have three years’ experience working the disgorging production line. I work in the cellar - receiving and shipping trucks, preparing wine doses for disgorging, and processing sanitations and additions. I like working the lines and also with sparkling wines,” says Orozco.

 

Winemaking Women at Rack & Riddle

The award-winning Winemaking Team consists of six people led by esteemed Executive Director of Winemaking, Penny Gadd-Coster. Four of the six Rack & Riddle winemakers are women. Each were asked what inspired them to be a winemaker. Here are their responses:

 

Penny Gadd-Coster
Executive Director of Winemaking
Years with Rack & Riddle: 13
Years in the Wine Industry: 33 

“My family of women inspired me tremendously. I actually released my own sparkling label recently, which represents four generations of women from my family on the label — my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mom, and me. Each were business women in a sense, either operating a business, or working at a time when many women didn’t work. They really inspired me to be my own person. I’ve always worked in fields that were ‘male dominated’. I never really gave it much thought because of the empowerment of my family. However, looking back, I’ve been on a team of 30 people doing research when I was only one of two women on the team. In winemaking, it’s been the same thing — not many women to work alongside. Interestingly, with Sparkling wine, there generally aren’t many people making it. To be a woman winemaker in a relatively small niche field is really unique and gratifying for me,” says Gadd-Coster.

When asked how she inspires the winemaking team, Gadd-Coster, says, “I hope my mentoring of the team here at Rack & Riddle inspires them — I’ve been told by the women I work with that I’m a good leader, and that means a lot to me personally. We’re all in this together. I learn from them, they learn from me, and the encouragement is mutual.”

 

Jennifer (Jenn) Zeek
Winemaker
Years with Rack & Riddle: 6
Years in the Wine Industry: 16

16 years ago, Jenn started her career in the wine industry inspired by her time working in restaurants, with wine passionate co-workers and extensive traveling. She said, “A winemaking profession appeared to be the best combination of creativity, sensory, and science. My career choice has not disappointed, and I am still, maybe even more so, challenged, excited and inspired daily," As a winemaker at Rack & Riddle, Jenn deals with a diverse production of both sparkling and still wines. She also caters to numerous custom crush projects, and her day-to-day involves interactions with every department and many clients through planning and tasting. When asked about her fellow women winemakers and crew, she said, “I am especially proud to work with the talented and motivated women at the winery.” 

 

Sarah Hunt
Assistant Operations Winemaker
Years with Rack & Riddle: 1.5
Years in the Wine Industry: 17
 
“I grew up being on the retail side of wine, so the inspiration for me was the desire to get behind the art of making it. I wanted to create something that is memorable to the consumer. When someone has a gathering or get-together, and they are enjoying a beautiful product, it becomes a memory. Your senses inspire memories and pulls them forward. To be part of a beautiful moment when someone is savoring something that I’ve helped create is definitely part of my inspiration,” says Hunt.

When asked about her job at the winery, Hunt says, “I work very closely with the production side of winemaking — bringing the final bubbles to the market. We each have our niche, and this is where my niche lies. Winemaking is a difficult market to break into, because it’s male-dominated. You can’t exist in this industry without passion behind the drive. It’s awesome that Rack & Riddle is a company with a lot of women, and there is great strength in the women that work here. I’m honored to be able to work among them.”

 

Sandrine Bourcier
Sparkling Winemaker
Years with Rack & Riddle: 1
Years in the Wine Industry: 27

“I have an uncle who owns vineyards. It was a great pleasure to be there as a child. I was very involved with that side of my family growing up. Every harvest, we would go with all the cousins and neighbors, and harvesting was a party. It’s where I found the passion for winemaking. Being raised in France, wine is part of every-day life. It was something that appealed to me. I was accustomed to having it, tasting and enjoying it,” says Bourcier.

On the uniqueness of the group, she says, “We recently had a meeting with the business development and winemaking teams, and we were talking about strategies. For a brief moment I looked around the room — and interestingly there were eight or nine people in the room, and I realized they were all women. I thought, wow, this is super special.”

 

Women in Management at Rack & Riddle

The management team of Rack & Riddle is very diverse. Please meet a few of the women who direct the Sales and Operations of the winery:

 

Cynthia Faust
Business Development Manager
Years with Rack & Riddle: 10
Years in the Wine Industry: 10

“Rack & Riddle employs a very diverse team. I am blessed to be working side-by-side with team members – most of whom are women — who willingly wear multiple hats each day, and who channel their positions skillfully in serving all of our clients,” says Faust.

 

Stacey Gallagher
Strategic Operations & Human Resources
Years with Rack & Riddle: 5.5
Years in the Wine Industry: 5.5

“Working in Human Resources at Rack & Riddle is a blessing as I am constantly reminded of the diversity of our workforce. Not only do I have the privilege of being surrounded by powerful women in every facet of our business, from Ownership to Production; I am interacting daily with different age groups, cultures, languages and genders,” says Gallagher.

 

Silvia de La Presa Owens
QA/QC Manager
Years with Rack & Riddle: 7
Years in the Wine Industry: 9

“I feel privileged to work with a diverse group of women who reflect the richness of our society and bring different points of view, culture, and knowledge, enriching my everyday experience,” says de La Presa Owens.

 

Additionally, there are multiple other women in key roles at the Winery, making a positive difference in daily operations.

 

About Rack & Riddle

With three locations in Sonoma County, California, Rack & Riddle is an innovative leader in the custom crush, custom wine services marketplace. Committed to providing pristine facilities where both internal and client winemakers are able to craft award-winning still and sparkling wines, the facilities are bustling year-round.

Rack & Riddle offers complete grape-to-bottle and base-to-bottle production for still and sparkling wines, and private-label sparkling wine services. The installation of state-of-the-art, high-capacity still and sparkling wine production and bottling lines provides the ability for clients to keep up with demand. The facilities house nearly two million gallons of stainless-steel storage and fermentation vessels. An exceptional winemaking team produces 1.7 million cases of wine annually.  
 
To learn more, visit Rack & Riddle online at rackandriddle.com, and follow on Facebook and Twitter.
 
For information contact Cynthia Faust, cynthia@rackandriddle.com, (707) 433-8400.