RIDEAU VINEYARD
Iris Rideau (805-688-0717; www.rideauvineyard.com) was 12 years old when her grandmother first introduced her to table etiquette and fine wine appreciation. Her childhood passion would ignite her entrepreneurial spirit decades later, but not before she took a few turns personally and professionally. When Iris became a teenage mother, she had to work at a sewing factory to support herself and her child. However, she was determined to make more of her life. She began taking night courses in college and landed herself a job at an insurance company. She then started her own insurance policy and investment business with her husband Jimmy Rideau after they were married. That was when she first appeared on Making It! in 1989 as the head of IC Rideau Securities, Inc. She remained at her company and was planning for her eventual retirement. But as she approached that point, she realized she did not want to live the rest of her life unproductively. This inspired her to form RIDEAU VINEYARD in California.

However, this idea did not come to her immediately. She had originally considered opening an inn or restaurant. But when the county of Santa Barbara denied both ideas, she turned her attention to winemaking. She received a golden opportunity when she met a winemaker who had just left a renowned winery. He was in need of a new facility and Iris, who was seeking a winemaker for her business, agreed to build a winery for the both of them in exchange for his services. She enjoyed a great deal of success in her new venture but had to endure some difficult times. Her most devastating experience as an entrepreneur happened three years ago, when a careless winemaker cost her 50% of her wine inventory due to contamination. The catastrophe nearly drove her to exit her business, but Iris chose to persist and eventually replaced her losses in two years. She learned a valuable lesson from the incident and has since taken a more hands-on approach to ensure high quality of her products. Rideau Vineyard is projected to make $2.5 million at the end of 2005. Iris is most proud of the fact that she is able to use her resources to provide for her family. Recently, she has donated food, clothing and money to her family members in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.