The 10th of 13 children, Lisa Suárez was born to Tomasita and Gerardo Suárez. Lisa loves her Latina food and culture and felt their pull and influence on her craft, even far away in Niagara, Canada.
// LIFE BEFORE WINE //
After graduating from The University of Colorado-Boulder in Broadcast Journalism, Lisa worked as a television news producer at local and national stations across North America, including 9News-Denver, CHCH-TV Hamilton, and the CTV National Newsroom in Toronto. During this time, Lisa met and married her husband, Jacek Tadus, a mechatronics engineer and fellow wine lover. After the Vancouver Olympic Games, Lisa was inspired to move on to her next journey, pursuing her life’s passion.
// OENOPHILIA //
She’s worked in wine for the past 13-years in Niagara and Napa, honing her knowledge and craft. As Senior Wine Educator for Constellation Brands in California, Lisa worked with VIP clients and brand representatives at Robert Mondavi, Ravenswood, and Franciscan Estate Wineries in Napa, and Sonoma, ingesting the business side of her planned venture as a nomadic winemaker and seeking the perfect partnership to launch her own expression into the market. During this same period, Lisa completed a diploma in Wine Business Management at Niagara College and studied Biological Science at Brock University. She rounded her wine and food education by completing two certificates in Winemaking and OIV Wine Marketing from UC Davis in California.
// NIAGARA //
After producing television news for 15-years, Lisa jumped into winemaking in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, apprenticing under the tutelage of young winemakers and growers - Greg and Yannick Wertsch of Between The Lines Winery. She called it a perfect start. Yannick, a new winemaker, and Lisa, a new cellar assistant - together, they developed their wine skills and worked with Greg to take the winery to the next level. She created her virtual brand with these winemakers- Suárez Wines, producing six vintages of Petit Verdot and Pinot Gris. She wore many hats as the assistant winemaker at BTL and their Marketing Director. Lisa never rests, and she was also known as their resident foodie, crafting creative partnerships with Ontario chefs to produce unique pairings to showcase the art of the wines they produce and Lisa’s philosophy that wine belongs at a table shared by family and friends.
// SUÁREZ WINES //
Today, Lisa and Suárez Wines are back to the High Country and ready to elevate these passions at her new home in Boulder County.
Suárez Wines + Market at Mariposa Farm is not the culmination of her time in Canada but a new beginning in Colorado.
“I love wine. I love life. I love friends and family—but not always in that order. I love when it all comes together in true creative collaboration. That’s what wine should be—an artifact of a moment in time. I’m a life-long learner and I’m not afraid of what comes next, but of not evolving.”