In April we celebrated Lao New Year, attending festivities and gathering with the community to honor our cultural traditions. Traditionally, in Laos, it’s a time for welcoming the solar new year—a time for cleansing away the bad luck and hardships of the previous year and inviting good health, fortune and rain for the upcoming planting season.
One of the things we’re looking forward to most is opening our tasting lounge where we can bring people together over our wines and good food.
Here’s a recap of the month and some updates:
Honoring Culture, Respecting Space
Four Ponds came into existence because of owner Suzi Raposa’s deep and profound connection to this land. Our property encompasses 80 acres that contains rich soil, water, wildlife and 24 acres of mature vineyards. It’s a peaceful setting with panoramic views of the Sierra Foothills. To sit in silence here is to feel an indescribable peace. Honoring this, we built a small shrine as a symbol of honor, harmony and respect for the land and space. It is where we will honor the ancestors—both our biological ancestors and those who preceded us here on this property.
We installed the shrine around the time of Lao New Year, which is a time of deep reverence. Younger generations pour water over the hands of elders and monks to ask for forgiveness and to receive blessings. Installing the shrine felt appropriate for the new year.
New to the Team
We are thrilled to welcome Lee Hodo to our team. She will be working with us through the opening of our tasting lounge. Lee is a seasoned veteran in marketing and promoting wine and destination brands. A Sacramento native, she started her winery career in the late 70’s when California was experiencing a renaissance of wine and pioneering winemakers. She’s led, launched and directed groundbreaking wine projects for renowned brands such as Jordan Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma County, Acacia Winery, Rodney Strong Vineyards and Toad Hollow Vineyards.
She has a proven track record of executing successful marketing and promotional strategies, bringing her clients national media notoriety and securing long-term recognition for quality. She has deep connections with established associations such as the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, Amador Vintners Association, Sonoma County Wineries and El Dorado Winery Association.
First Wine Club Member Event
We kicked off May with our first Wine Club Member event at the vineyard. It was a beautiful afternoon of connecting over food and wine. Our vineyard and construction manager, Rich Owings, who is known for his Cabernet burgers, manned the grill and gave tours of the production facility, which is nearly complete.
We had perfect weather for our release event, and it gave us a small glimpse of what we hope to do more of once our tasting lounge is open. Club members brought their friends and family to enjoy food, wine and the amazing views of the Sierra Foothills. It was so rewarding to see everyone enjoying each other’s company and our award-winning wines. We even had former estate owner, Jim Spinetta, helping us out by greeting guests and taking a turn at the grill.
Construction Updates
Wine Club Members got the chance to note our new signage, tour the production facility and saw the groundwork for the tasting lounge. We’ve also sculpted the terrace leading from the lounge.
