Seasonal Winemaker at Rack & Riddle

Established in 2007 in Northern California by wine industry veterans Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist, Rack & Riddle was founded with the mission to craft superior sparkling wines. Through years of steadfast dedication and thoughtful expansion, Rack & Riddle has become the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States with 3.5 million cases of capacity. An exceptional winemaking team dedicated to the mastery of sparkling wine supported by state-of-the-art technology, delivers turnkey grape-to-bottle, wine-to-bottle, and private label sparkling wine services with tank sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000 gallons. Our wineries, rooted in Sonoma County, specialize in Méthode Champenoise, Charmat, and in-line carbonation solutions producing the best of all things sparkling. The company’s cutting-edge Healdsburg facility also offers high capacity, fully automated still wine capabilities. The company prides itself on being an upstanding member of the communities in which it operates and is committed to operating fairly, ethically, and sustainably.

Rack & Riddle is a drug-free workplace and an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This role's compensation is anticipated to fit within the stated range. These figures represent what we reasonably expect to pay for this position, but the actual compensation offered will depend on numerous job-related factors, including but not limited to candidate skills, knowledge, and education.

Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services, the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States, is seeking to add a Seasonal Winemaker to our team.

The Harvest Winemaker is a winemaking role based out of Rack & Riddle’s Geyserville (GV) facility. This position serves as support for Charmat sparkling winemaking team’s production, canning operations, and flavored wine programs.

This position coordinates the day-to-day workload for lab and cellar at GV and communicates wine preparation for Planning, Production, and QA teams regarding Charmat, canning, and flavored wine production.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Charmat Production – GV

• Write Vintrace work orders for inoculation, dosage, and final bottling prep
• Monitor fermentation development
• Verify lab analysis to specifications
• Audit completed work orders for correct Lot IDs, tank measurements, and gallons
• Scan work orders to Data Entry

Canning & Bottling Operations

• Write Vintrace work orders for client additions and canning prep
• Verify lab analysis to specifications
• Verify spec sheets submitted by clients
• Scan work orders to Data Entry

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with the Winemaking, Cellar, Planning, Production, Lab and QC teams at GV to ensure winemaking requirements are communicated back to the Lead Winemaker
• Promote teamwork
• Adhere to all safety practices, SOPs, Rack and Riddle’s winemaking protocols and company policies
• Learn data entry and collaborate with our Data Entry & Winemaking Assistant
• Other tasks assigned by management

Requirements

A successful candidates background includes:

• Completion of a degree or certificate program relating to enology, viticulture or related field.
• 5+ years of winemaking experience
• Ability to learn and adapt to changing conditions
• Ability to work safely and accurately in a fast-paced environment
• Must possess strong organizational skills as well as a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in spreadsheets, word processing programs and general winemaking software (Vintrace preferred).
• Ability to work days and/or nights, and extended hours as needed dependent on production needs.