SBJ invests in Rack & Riddle

SBJ Capital has made an investment in California-based Rack & Riddle, a custom wine production facility. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

February 1, 2022: SBJ Capital (“SBJ”), a private equity firm that partners with founder and family-owned businesses, announced today that it has completed an investment in Rb Wine Associates, LLC (“Rack & Riddle”). Rack & Riddle is one of the three largest domestic producers of sparkling wines made in the traditional Champagne method and is one of the only providers of scale capable of supplying third parties, such as grocery retailers or wine brands, with “American Champagne.” Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist, the co-founders of the business, retain a significant ownership stake and will continue to serve as Co-Chief Executive Officers.

Rebecca and Bruce founded their custom service winery, Rack & Riddle, in 2007 with a vision of producing high quality wines in the heart of the Northern California Wine Country in a state-of-the-art facility. They quickly recognized the large and untapped opportunity to produce California sparkling wines using the Méthode Champenoise tradition for industry clientele. Today, sparkling wine is one of the fastest growing segments of the wine industry and Rack & Riddle has grown into an industry leader. From its facilities in Healdsburg and Geyserville, Rack & Riddle produces more than two million cases of still and sparkling wines annually, and offers a full suite of wine production services including: grape sourcing and crushing, still wine bottling, and grape-to-bottle sparkling wine production for both branded and private label wine clients.

“After celebrating our 15th harvest, we realized an investment partner would help R&R capitalize on the growth opportunities we see in our industry. SBJ has extensive wine industry experience and their excitement to see R&R grow was further validation of our continuing mission. SBJ’s expertise and capital – when combined with our people, experience, and facilities – will allow R&R to reach its goals, now and in the future,” said Bruce Lundquist.

“Since the inception of SBJ Capital, we have sought an opportunity to leverage our prior experience in the wine industry, and we knew Rack & Riddle was a great fit for us upon meeting Bruce and Rebecca,” remarked SBJ Capital Managing Director, Tom Barber. “After more than 40 years in the wine industry, I have seen few companies as well positioned as Rack & Riddle to capitalize on important industry trends such as growth in sparkling wine and private and control label wines. We are honored to have been chosen by Rebecca and Bruce as their partners, and we look forward to working with them and the rest of the talented Rack & Riddle team to take advantage of the meaningful opportunities in front of them in the years ahead,” added SBJ Capital Managing Director, Bill Jesse.

About Rack & Riddle
Rack & Riddle is an innovative leader in the custom crush and wine services marketplace. Committed to providing pristine facilities where both resident 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. Rack & Riddle’s facilities house more than two million gallons of stainless-steel storage and fermentation vessels and an exceptional winemaking team produces 2+ million cases of wine annually. Please visit www.rackandriddle.com for more information.