My Adventure Launching a Sparkling Wine Business - #2
Bruce Lundquist at Team Meeting
Entrepreneur Bruce Lundquist describes how tenacity and an entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of a sparkling custom crush house.
Why Bruce?
He and his business partner Rebecca Faust changed the landscape for sparkling wine, making “small grower sparkling wine” possible in Northern California! They founded Rack and Riddle, a custom crush operation focused on sparkling wine.
Bruce is one of the “people behind the sparkle” for many small wineries that now have a way to make Methode Champenoise sparkling wines. Prior to the creation of Rack and Riddle, making bubbles was only practical for large wine companies who could afford the huge capital investment in the equipment needed to make sparkling wine.
Bruce has been involved in sparkling wine since 1996 when he joined J Vineyards, where he quickly moved to the role of general manager. He and Rebecca launched Rack and Riddle in 2007. They have produced tens of millions of bottles of sparkling wine. If you love sparkling wine, I’m certain you’ve had a bottle made in their facility.
Here is Part 2 of my conversation with Bruce.
An Entrepreneur at Heart
Vicky
You worked inside businesses in finance and general management before you created Rack and Riddle. Launching that business was a bold entrepreneurial act. Were you always an entrepreneur at heart?
Bruce
I think I always wanted the person I was working for to do more. In one place I worked we were approached by MacDonalds who wanted to put a store on our property and do some joint marketing with us. The GM absolutely would not entertain the idea. We missed that opportunity and it drove me bananas.
“There was an unquenched energy to build a business, to do something nobody else could dream was possible.”
There were probably inklings along the way when there were moments like that where I said ‘man, if it was me, I would have done something.’ There was an unquenched energy to build a business. Eventually I knew I wanted to do something on my own and take the risks. What if we could have something nobody else could dream was ever possible?
Vicky
You’ve certainly done that! Has it been good? Are you happy you did it?
Bruce
Yes. The adventure has been remarkable. Probably more remarkable than I thought when we first started. We kept growing right through our business plans.
The Most Amazing Moment in Launching a Sparkling Business
Vicky
So, you said it’s been a great adventure. What was the most amazing, important moment of your journey and what made it special?
Bruce
Certainly, the day we closed the transaction and we’d launched the business in 2007, we were euphoric. Perhaps more important was the moment after we emerged from a few years of struggling during the downturn in the economy that started in 2008.
“They stopped thinking we were going to go out of business.”
There finally came a point when financial institutions started approaching us. They had stopped thinking we were going to go out of business. Everything started to hit at the same time. All the business prospecting we’d been doing during those years started to pay off. Contracts started pouring in. Sparkling started being more or a darling instead of an afterthought. We said to ourselves, “we’re on our way here. The dream is actually starting to occur.”
The Most Difficult Time Building our Sparkling Business
Vicky
When was the darkest period?
Bruce
There’s no doubt that in 2009, things went cattywampus and cash flow became incredibly tight. Rebecca and I weren’t taking paychecks because we needed to make payroll. We did some credit card borrowing.
I can remember at one point my wife looked at the checkbook and said, “did you forget to write in your paycheck deposit?” I had to tell her that I hadn’t been drawing a salary for a few months. We knew we would get through the tunnel; we just didn’t know when.
My Greatest Source of Pride in Creating our Business
Vicky
What is the accomplishment that you’re most proud of?
Bruce
We have a growing number of people who’ve been with us almost from the start and they’re still with us. We have a 10-year board with pictures of people who’ve been here ten years. Each year the board keeps growing. I’d like to think that’s because we’ve created an environment where people want to stay with us and we’ve done the right things for our employees.
We wouldn’t be where we are without having great employees who want to see the business grow. I’m most proud that we’ve been able to grow the business with that loyal core group of people.
Bruce Lundquist (kneeling on left) and the Rack & Riddle Team
My Best Pairing with Sparkling Wine
Vicky
Let’s switch from the business of sparkling wine to the enjoyment of it. What is the best pairing you’ve ever had with a sparkling wine?
Bruce
Well certainly grilled salmon with a sparkling rosé. But the best pairing, and this is going to sound strange, was potato soup, crusty homemade bread and a glass of Blanc de Blanc, which has become my favorite. It’s crispness cuts through the heavy soup. It totally worked. I love that I can have comfort food with a glass of bubbles.
All images courtesy of Rack & Riddle
Check out all my conversations with Bruce Lundquist.
