OUR Production Team

As Director of Operations, Agustin Ponce oversees all aspects of the production floor and the cellar, ensuring that all crush, press, tank, and bottling operations are seamless. His leadership focuses on each client project being handled with the utmost care and attention—from fruit and wine receiving and processing, all the way through bottling.

After studying agriculture in Mexico, Agustin began his career in the wine industry in 1989 working for Chalone Vineyards in Monterey County, Calif. Over the course of nine years his diligence and work ethic earned him an impressive reputation as assistant cellar master. He spent six years as cellar foreman for Kendall-Jackson, which brought him to Sonoma County in 2003 where he worked as cellar master for Kendall Jackson Vinwood Cellars in Geyserville, and Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor for five years.

Agustin found his way to Rack & Riddle in 2010, where he became Head Cellar Master and has been instrumental in helping Rack & Riddle grow and become the premiere custom crush facility in California; he was promoted in spring 2016 to Director of Operations. Agustin is proud to be a part of Rack & Riddle and especially appreciates the stellar team he manages in the cellar.

Agustin lives in Windsor, California with his wife Rosario, where they raised their three beautiful daughters. He enjoys spending time with his family, traveling with his wife, being an active member and volunteer at his church, and weekends when he can BBQ and relax with his friends and loved ones.

As the facilities engineer of Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services, Stan first found himself knee-deep in the non-stop construction activities germane to building a sterling 500,000-case custom crush facility. It was the latest and most exciting challenge in Stan’s distinguished career which started as Project Engineer for Container Technology Corporation in Denver, Colorado.

Trading the snowy peaks of Colorado for the sunny coast of California, Stan became the Vice President of Sales for Womack International, an equipment supply company to the container industry, which eventually led to his current position at Rack & Riddle.

Since blueprints were drafted and ground broke in 2007, Stan has been integral to ensuring optimal design of the facility—vetting only the best equipment and creating a layout geared toward the serious winemaker.

Today, Stan continues to manage every aspect of the 125,000-square-foot facility and extensive grounds. From the welcome signs and pipe fittings, to pond operations and interfacing with vineyard management, to obtaining new equipment and leading IT operations, Stan ensures everything at the winery runs smoothly.

Stan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from SE Missouri State. He and wife Valarie live in Brady Bunch fashion in Petaluma, where they raised (and are raising) their five children.

Away from the winery, Stan enjoys golf, working around the house and family activities.

Silvia de la Presa Owens, a native of Spain, joins Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services after 15 years of experience in basic and clinical research and two years in the wine industry in a laboratory setting. She brings extensive experience in quality control/assurance as well as quality and food safety management systems in both the wine industry and research environment.

Outside of work she likes traveling, reading, hiking and spending time with friends and family and beloved dogs and cats.

A Bay Area native, Ray brings 30 years of experience in supply chain management to Rack & Riddle, most recently in supply chain planning at E&J Gallo Winery for 20 years and Treasury Wine Estates for eight years, as well as two years in consulting.

Ray received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by his MBA from California State University, Stanislaus.

As senior supply chain manager at Rack & Riddle, Ray oversees planning, scheduling, inventory and warehousing of all sparkling wine production.

Ray has held a long appreciation for wine, having been recruited into the wine industry while working on his MBA. He has remained in the industry ever since. “Wine has cultural and social appeal as a beverage, especially when shared over a meal,” says Ray.

When not at the winery, he and his wife enjoy traveling. “When we travel, we like learning the history of where we are. We take a lot of pictures and my wife creates books of where we have visited.” They have two daughters—one in Seattle and one in Sacramento. Both are married and enjoying their careers.

Richard was hired in 2021 as Rack & Riddle’s new Cellar Master. He’s responsible for all day-to-day operations of the cellar. He works closely with the winemaking team to ensure that all winemaking guidelines, procedures and quality control are closely adhered, and to ensure the cellar operates safely and efficiently. His role also entails developing systems, procedures, and policies for ongoing operational efficiency and cohesiveness.

Richard attended San Joaquin Delta College studying business. He started his career in the wine industry in 2012 as a seasonal worker at Bear Creek Winery in Lodi, California. His determination and stellar work ethic earned him a full-time position where he continued to gain knowledge and further advance his career. Working his way up, he became a supervisor during his five years at Bear Creek. Richard then became the Cellar Master at Oakridge Winery (Lodi) in 2017. There, he was in full control of all cellar operations, at times running a team of 40-60 employees. He’s been part of harvests ranging from 12k to 60k-tons — all of which he has found to be a very exciting adventure.

Richard enjoys spending time with his wife Alisha of 12-years, his daughter Alana, and his extended family — he’s the eldest of four siblings and considers himself the patriarch of his large family. A huge 49ers fan, he attends Niner and Giants games frequently, tailgating with family and friends. He loves to travel and explore new places with family whenever possible.

Cynthia Faust brings nearly 20 years of business experience to Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services. As Business Development Manager, Cynthia oversees strategic initiatives that have resulted in unprecedented growth for the Rack & Riddle winery brand and all custom crush, base-to-bottle and grape-to-bottle programs.

Cynthia develops quarterly and yearly plans and projections for the department, assesses strategic alignment of business development projects to ensure goals are met on time and within budget, and also shepherds client projects from beginning to end, ensuring each project is handled with the greatest care and attention.

Born and raised in Sonoma County, Cynthia earned her degree from St. Mary’s College in business administration, and spent the first 18 years of her career as a financial controller for several Napa wineries, and, most recently, as a securities-licensed CFO for a private equity placement firm in Nevada.

“The really intriguing part of my role here at Rack & Riddle is getting to be a part of the energy as clients come in with their own label and story,” says Cynthia. “Our sparkling shiner program especially – we get to help them develop new directions and new opportunities for their brand, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Cynthia enjoys spending time with her three daughters, taking their dog on walks around Spring Lake and hiking in Annadel State Park.

Along with her sisters Rebecca and Sharon, Cynthia also recently founded Breathless Wines, in memory of their mother. The three sisters are proud to be creating award-winning sparkling wines hand-crafted in the méthode champenoise tradition, while bringing awareness to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, the disease that challenged their mom.

A native of Mexico, Alvaro hails from Mendocino County where he attended Mendocino College and worked in the wine industry for 25 years prior to joining Rack & Riddle in 2008. One of Rack & Riddle’s original employees since the first year Rack & Riddle opened, Alvaro is an integral part of our team. As cellar master, Alvaro handles work orders to prep client wines for bottling.

Alvaro began his career at Fetzer Winery in the barrel room for two years, followed by quality control for four years before taking a position in production at Rodney Strong Vineyards, where he managed sanitation in production and moved on to oversee presses and cellar operations for five years. Most recently before joining Rack & Riddle, Alvaro was the cellar lead at Murphy Goode Winery (in the same building where Rack & Riddle’s Alexander Valley facility is today).

Alvaro very much enjoys his career in the wine industry. “I’m always interested in learning new things about wine – the flavors and aromas, and different ways of making sparkling and still wines,” he says.

When not at the winery, Alvaro enjoys playing soccer, basketball and taking his three children to baseball games.

A native of Calistoga, Matthew brings 30 years of experience in all aspects of wine production to Rack & Riddle, most recently as production planning specialist at Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines. His previous roles there over a span of 13 years included distribution coordinator, and bottling & warehouse supervisor.

At Rack & Riddle, Matthew spearheads materials readiness and is the primary contact for shipping and receiving of materials and product. As an important member of the R&R team, Matthew drives improved operations, and delivers top-tier customer service to help us achieve our primary goal: exceeding clients’ expectations.

“I very much enjoy logistics work, and being part of a team that’s truly interested in winemaking as an art instead of just producing wine,” says Matthew.

In his spare time, Matthew enjoys spending time with his wife of nearly 20 years, Karin, their two daughters (both in college), cooking, and his hobby of photography.