Lodi’s sparkling wine scene is about to lose a heavyweight. Rack & Riddle, the nation’s leading custom sparkling wine producer, is shutting down its Lodi production site and consolidating sparkling operations in Sonoma County. The company says the Lodi facility will be folded into its Healdsburg campus as part of a newly planned “Sparkling Innovation Park,” a move that reshapes Lodi’s bottling capacity and contract winemaking work.
The closure first surfaced in local coverage this week. As reported by CBS News Sacramento, the company announced the decision in a brief video and statement confirming that the Lodi plant will close, though without laying out a detailed shutdown schedule.
Sparkling Innovation Park And Consolidation Plan
In a press release carried by Wine Industry Advisor, Rack & Riddle framed the shift as a strategic consolidation designed to “strengthen long-term growth, increase efficiency and accelerate innovation.” The company plans to centralize major sparkling operations inside its new Sparkling Innovation Park on the Healdsburg campus. “This is about building the next chapter of Rack & Riddle, investing in innovation, scale and operational excellence,” CEO Jeff Tuttle said in the release.
What The Lodi Plant Did
Rack & Riddle describes the Lodi site as a Charmat-style sparkling and in-line carbonation facility, roughly 90,000 square feet with about a 1 million-case Charmat capacity. That footprint made it a regional hub for canned and high-volume sparkling production. Shifting that equipment and capacity to Healdsburg will move a significant share of the company’s tank and canning work north.
Company Promises Support For Employees
The release, via Wine Industry Advisor, says Rack & Riddle will offer “hands-on support in the form of resources and transition planning” to employees affected by the closure and expects to add roles at its Sonoma County operations as Healdsburg ramps up. Those assurances will draw close attention in Lodi, where the plant has supplied jobs and steady work for growers, haulers and other vendors. Industry sources note that consolidations can boost efficiency but often result in workforce reductions where facilities shut down.
Background And Next Steps
Rack & Riddle moved into Lodi after acquiring Weibel Family Winery in 2023, a deal outlined on Rack & Riddle. The company’s statement has not specified a closure timetable, severance terms or whether the Lodi site will be sold, leaving those details to be worked out with company representatives and local officials. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
