Four Ponds Winery - Steve Leveque Wine Consulting

Four Ponds Estate Winery — A New Legacy Rooted in Family What if the place you are searching for all your life suddenly feels familiar the very first time you stand on its soil? In this episode of Wine Soundtrack USA, host Allison Levine meets Steve Leveque, winemaking consultant and the winemaker behind Four Ponds Estate Winery, to discover the extraordinary story of Suzi Raposa and a vineyard built around family, friendship, nature, and a powerful connection to the land. Suzi never imagined she would own a winery. Arriving in California as a young refugee from Laos with her family, she eventually built a career as a physical therapist. Years later, with her children leaving home, she began asking herself a different question: Where do I want to spend the rest of my life? Then she discovered an 80-acre estate in the Sierra Foothills, with 24 acres of vineyards and four ponds quietly giving life to the land. Something about it felt strangely familiar. The vineyards reminded Suzi of her childhood in Laos, watching her grandfather farm rice with a water buffalo—the smell of the earth, the silence, and the simple rhythm of working the land. Inspired by the cultural importance of water in Lao tradition, Four Ponds Estate Winery became more than a winery. It became Suzi’s second act—and the beginning of a new legacy built around bringing people together. And helping shape that vision is Steve Leveque, a Napa Valley native whose remarkable career includes Robert Mondavi Winery, Chalk Hill Estate, HALL and Opus One, as well as years of consulting with Sierra Foothills producers. Steve brings decades of winemaking and viticulture experience to Four Ponds, while also continuing his work through Steve Leveque Wine Consulting, helping other wineries pursue distinctive, high-quality wines. Join Allison Levine for a conversation about starting over, following instinct, honoring your roots, and discovering that sometimes the most beautiful wine stories begin long before the first grape is harvested. Wine Soundtrack USA goes beyond the bottle to tell the stories of the people, places, and dreams behind American wine. Produced by Claudio Latagliata, the series brings together the voices that make the American wine world so fascinating. Listen to Four Ponds Estate Winery with Steve Leveque—and discover the story of a vineyard where heritage, friendship, and the land come together.