Made for the next generation of wine lovers —
21+ Gen Z and Millennials
Sonoma County, CA (March 20, 2025) — Rack & Riddle, the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States, has created CALSECCO a new California sparkling wine category developed to drive growth and attract young 21+ Gen Z and Millennial consumers to premium California sparkling wine.
“CALSECCO represents a new generation of sparkling wine—deeply rooted in tradition yet distinctly Californian. The winemaking legacy of California has proven its place among the world’s great wines. While we have excelled in still wines and Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines, the premium category for wines crafted in the Italian method remains untapped,” said Rack & Riddle General Manager Mark Garaventa.
“We have the right climate and terroir here in California to grow the finest sparkling wine grapes in the world,” Garaventa added. “Consumers are thirsty for modern, fruit-forward wines, making the U.S. market perfectly primed for CALSECCO. Rack & Riddle has exclusively registered this trademark for use by our clients. CALSECCO is grown and crafted in California and made in the Venetian tradition.”
“Our winemaking team visited leading Italian Prosecco houses in 2022 and came back so inspired,” said & Riddle Executive Director of Winemaking Manveer Sandhu. “We loved the fresh, vibrant style we experienced there, and decided to employ that winemaking method in California to create our own expression. CALSECCO, intentionally local, is made from 100% California-grown and vinted grapes. As a winemaker, this is exciting, as we have created an entirely new category of U.S. sparkling wine.”
Market demand for sparkling wine has remained steady, one in every seven bottles of wine sold in the U. S. are sparkling; the premium sparkling wine segment priced at $13 to $17.99 per 750ml bottle retail is the largest segment with a 39% share of market that continues to grow. Appealing to a younger, educated, affluent and diverse consumer, Italian-style sparkling wines sold 11.7 million cases in the United States in 2024.
“Making CALSECCO is a natural step in Rack & Riddle’s expanded services and a reflection of the innovation on which the company was founded and has operated since it was founded in 2007,” Sandhu explained, “We have invested in the finest equipment, facilities and winemakers to bring this new wine category to market. Our team brings more than one hundred years of combined winemaking experience, and our commitment to the highest quality possible at every step in the process is unparalleled.”
About Rack & Riddle
Founded with the mission to craft superior sparkling wines, Rack & Riddle was established in 2007 in Northern California by wine industry veterans Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist. 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 team dedicated to the mastery of making sparkling wine supported by state-of-the-art technology, delivers turnkey winemaking services and custom brands with tank sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000 gallons. Four modern wineries located in Healdsburg, Alexander Valley, Geyserville and Lodi specialize in Méthode Champenoise and Charmat, continuing Rack & Riddle’s long tradition of producing The Best of All Things Sparkling. In 2025, Rack & Riddle introduced CALSECCO a new California sparkling wine category made in the Venetian Tradition, and later this year will introduce the world’s finest no- and low-alcohol production process, exclusively available in the U.S. through a partnership with the SOLOS patented Aroma Recovery System. Rack & Riddle prides itself on being an upstanding member of the communities in which it operates and is committed to operating fairly, ethically, and sustainably.
For more visit rackandriddle.com. Follow Rack & Riddle on LinkedIn, Instagram @RackNRiddle and Facebook.
