In honor of AAPI Month, we’re introducing the trailblazing woman behind the state’s first Lao-American woman-owned winery.
If you’ve ever met our owner and founder, Suzi Raposa, you’d know that she’s a little spicy and somewhat salty, with deep layers of sweetness that holds true care and compassion for others.
You’d know that her favorite band in high school was AC/DC, but that today she favors Luke Combs. And you’d know that she’s an amazing cook, equally adept at making the most flavorful Lao sausage from scratch, as well as homemade cookies that the neighbor’s kids beg for. She’s incredibly patriotic and proudly Southeast Asian.
She also makes being a trailblazer look easy
The way that she came into the wine business may have been accidental—she first fell in love with the land that our winery inhabits. Then she saw its potential to bring people together. In her dreams, she sees people from all walks of life enjoying food and wine and experiencing the same sense of peace that she feels when she looks out over the vineyards and into Sierra Nevada. Whether guests are celebrating big milestones or simply a weekend escape, she sees our winery as a refuge from the daily grind. Her heart has always been her guide and her sense of what feels right rarely steers her wrong.
But Suzi’s story of becoming the first Lao-American woman owned winery in California isn’t woven with the threads of privilege. A little luck, maybe. But sacrifices were made and lives were put at risk for her to achieve this.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian Refugee Resettlement in the U.S. California is home to the largest population of Lao and Southeast Asians in the country. In 2023, about 245,000 people in the U.S. who identify as Laotian. About 25 percent live in California.
Suzi’s own story of coming to the U.S.
Suzi’s own story of coming to the U.S. in1980 began with the devastating loss of leaving her beloved grandparents. They raised her for the first 10 years of her life, right up until her departure for the refugee camp in Thailand. She still remembers the night that she left them. It was New Year’s Eve when her father came to their house for her and another sibling. The rest of the family was already at the refugee camp. Suzi remembers a somber conversation between the grown-ups. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she could tell it was serious. When it was clear that she would be leaving them, she didn’t want to go. They finally convinced her that it was for the best and that she should be with the rest of the family.
Their passage across the Mekong River into Thailand was risky and everyone was tense. Upon their arrival at the refugee camp, an armed guard caught them trying to sneak in. With the guard’s M16 pointed at them, poised to shoot, Suzi watched her father plead for their lives, offering all the money he had left. The guard, miraculously, took the money and let them in.
Suzi’s family, like many refugees who resettle in the U.S., came with little more than the clothes they were wearing. The federal refugee resettlement agency sponsored them helped with their transition. As the eldest child and the quickest to learn English, Suzi often acted as family translator. Like many refugee children, she assumed more adult responsibilities than most teens are faced with. But in other ways, she was a typical teen In the 80’s, with big hair and Nancy Wilson as her fashion icon.
Serving in a different way…
Suzi achieved what her parents had hoped for her: a college education and a career that enabled her to be more financially stable. Throughout her 30-year career in physical therapy, she’s helped people at their lowest points be able to take their first steps again. In her role, she’s been a coach, a cheerleader, a confidant and friend. And now she gets the chance to serve in a different way. Instead of pushing people beyond their comfort zones, she can welcome them into a space where they can relax with a glass of wine, while enjoying the views of our expansive estate, with its four tranquil ponds and the gentle breeze of the Sierra Foothills.