Trader Joe’s wine selection is routinely championed for its variety, affordability, and quality, and its sparkling wines are a prime example. Although sold at the grocery chain, the brand’s Reserve North Coast Brut and North Coast Brut Rosé are made via methode champenoise, the same technique used in the Champagne region of France. These wines are also made with the grape varieties required to make real Champagne, primarily pinot noir and chardonnay. Trader Joe’s doesn’t own a winery, so who is making this impressive libation? It’s a name you’ve probably never heard of: Rack & Riddle.
Rack & Riddle is the largest producer of custom sparkling wine in California. Owners Rebecca Frost and Bruce Lundquist started the Sonoma County, California-based company in 2007, and today, the company produces 3.5 million cases of bubbly each year. As evidence of Rack & Riddle’s expertise in sparkling winemaking, its North Coast Sparkling Rose won Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The brand has also received multiple Wine Enthusiast scores of over 90 points and 42 medals for its winemaking, including Best of Class, Double Gold, and Gold medals.
How Rack & Riddle makes Trader Joe’s sparkling wines
According to Rack & Riddle’s website, the company makes sparkling wine for retailers like Trader Joe’s and more than 400 wineries, and its service is soup-to-nuts; they produce the wine, customize blends, assist with brand design, and handle bottling and shipping. Clients provide either grapes or wine, and the company turns it into sparkling wine, using bespoke specifications if desired. The winemaker also sells “shiners” to clients. These are entirely made and pre-aged sparkling wines bottled but without labels, a super turnkey option. Rack & Riddle has simplified the process for clients who want to offer a well-made sparkling wine but lack the necessary equipment, like TJ’s.
It cannot be overstated how impressive it is that Trader Joe’s offers sparkling wines made using methode champenoise. Also known as the traditional method, the process requires extra effort and labor. The difference is that other sparkling wines, like Prosecco, are fermented in a tank, while méthode champenoise requires a second fermentation in the bottle. So then, why doesn’t Trader Joe’s use the word Champagne on its sparkling wine labels like Costco? Costco can call its sparkling wine Champagne because it’s the real deal, using grapes actually grown and produced in the Champagne region of France as required by its controlled designation of origin. Still, for those searching for a beautiful West Coast take on “Champagne,” Rack & Riddle seems to have perfected the art of creating a winning sparkler without a vineyard or an investment in France.
