Somewhere halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, there is a region in California where exquisite grapes grow, known as Paso Robles. And the most beautiful American winery there is undoubtedly Opolo Vineyards. This earthly paradise is the brainchild of Rick Queen, whose baptismal name is Božidar.
This half-Irish, half-Serb was once one of the top 3 real estate agents in California. After earning enough to no longer worry about his existence, he abandoned houses and apartments and decided to work solely for his soul, and in memory of his mother who was originally from Herzegovina, he bought a vineyard.
– I’m a crazy Irishman from Minnesota. My name is Richard, Rick, which I got from my father. But later, I was baptized in a Serbian church in Duluth, where I received the name Božidar. And now everyone calls me Božo, both my American and my Serbian friends. My father later changed his faith and converted to Orthodoxy. Since then, we celebrate our patron saint’s day every year, Saint Michael the Archangel – our interlocutor proudly emphasizes.
Božo owns the Opolo empire, which produces over a million liters of wine annually, many of which, especially his famous Zinfandel, have won international Grand Prix titles.
However, he is most proud of the fact that after nearly 10 years of struggle, he managed to obtain permission to plant our native variety, Vranac, in America, which was harvested this year and will be bottled and ready for the market for the first time in the coming days.
Herzegovina in the Middle of California: Božo also makes top-notch brandy in addition to wine
But before becoming a successful winemaker, Božo was involved in various other things and earned a lot of money, which he doesn’t like to talk about much.
– My first job was pushing carts in a supermarket. I worked in that store doing everything, later becoming a salesman, then a manager. I started when I was 15, a year after my father died. I started working to help my family who was in a difficult situation at the time, and eventually left that store as an assistant manager. I had 50 people working for me when I was only 19 years old.
And when asked how he earned his first million, he says:
– Selling real estate. Although, I think I still only have that one million, maybe (laughs). First, I worked as a real estate agent for three years, and then I bought a small company with 6 employees. Three years later, I had 125 employed real estate agents. We also opened a bank for loans, a bond company… We were constantly working on improving, so in 1985, before the internet, I developed software that allowed my agents to be very productive, to sell more houses in less time, and they were better paid. Other agencies at that time had one computer, and at mine, every agent had their own computer, plus that software. That led all agents to work for me because if you worked for someone else, you had to struggle with that program, which at that time was something like artificial intelligence today – Mr. Božo recalls.
He says that money hasn’t changed him, that he still lives modestly, and often invites his workers, many of whom have Serbian names and origins, to his house on the edge of the vineyard to watch Serbian athletes’ matches together.
Božo doesn’t fight for the Serbian cause with shouting and slogans, but by taking his friends, Americans and others, on a tour of Serbian wineries, cities, and natural beauties once a year, after which they return to Serbia on their own.
When asked how much his Serbian origin means to him, he pauses, a tear glistens in his eye, and he says:
– It means everything to me. The best thing in my life. Maybe it’s my family, but my Serbian roots, that’s priceless. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the American or Irish people, or any other… But what we have, godparents, friends, that closeness… I think it’s also a big part of my success – he emphasizes.
Listen and watch the entire interview in which Rick Quinn, whom everyone calls Božo, told us about himself and his life…
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