We Are the Reason This Industry Exists: How Reclamación Wines Is Taking Back the Narrative in California Wine Country

by Sergio Domeyko April 21, 2026

Less than 1% of California wineries are Mexican-owned. David Salazar grew up in the vineyards of Monterey County as the son of immigrants, trained formally in viticulture, worked at Skywalker Ranch and the vineyards of New Zealand — and came home to build something with his own name on it. This is the story of Reclamación Wines.

 

In our first article in this series, we documented the federal policy changes cutting off SBA loans to legal permanent residents. In Article 2, we spotlighted Natalia and Flor de Chile — a Latina entrepreneur in San Francisco building a food brand from her kitchen against real economic headwinds. In Article 3, we laid out the full picture — four doors closing simultaneously on Latino and Latina entrepreneurs across America.

Today we introduce someone who has been navigating those doors his entire life — and building anyway.

David Salazar is the founder of Reclamación Wines, a Latino-owned boutique winery crafting sustainable, small-lot wines by hand in Sonoma Valley. He is the son of immigrants who grew up working the vineyards of Monterey County. He is formally educated in viticulture and enology. He has managed vineyards and production at a high level — including time at Skywalker Ranch and with the Giesen Group in New Zealand.

And he got tired of putting his name on someone else’s label.

A slow accumulation

When we asked David about the moment he decided to build his own winery, he pushed back on the premise.

“There was no single moment. It was a slow accumulation. I grew up in the vines in Monterey and saw firsthand what my parents and our family friends were doing. The actual work, the knowledge, the care that went into it. I spent years building on that foundation, learning the craft formally, managing vineyards and production at a high level, including time at Skywalker Ranch and eventually with the Giesen Group in New Zealand. And through all of it I kept watching who got to put their name on a label. Who got to own the story.” — David Salazar, Founder of Reclamación Wines

That question — who gets to put their name on the label — is not just personal. It is structural.

David’s focus is on Mexican-owned wineries specifically — the community that has provided the majority of vineyard labor in California for generations, and the one he personally represents. Less than 1% of California wineries are Mexican-owned. But the picture is broader than that.

Across all Latino backgrounds — Mexican, Salvadoran, Chilean, Colombian, Puerto Rican, and beyond — Latino-owned wineries remain a tiny fraction of California’s more than 4,000 bonded wineries. At Silicon Valley Latino, we have identified at least 70 Latino-owned wineries across the country — representing owners from many different Latin American backgrounds — and we know we are still counting. You can find many of them listed at ShopLatino.Market.

The industry built on Latino labor is slowly, defiantly, becoming an industry with Latino owners.

Reclamación — reclamation — is not just a brand name. It is a declaration.

 

What the vineyard taught him that no classroom could

David graduated from California State University Fresno with a formal degree in viticulture and enology. But his education started long before that — in the fields of Monterey County, watching his parents work.

“You learn quickly who is actually doing the work. No classroom teaches you that the people in the vineyards and wineries are often the ones most responsible for the quality of what ends up in the bottle. I learned that experience was just as valuable as education and that passion for what you do can be the greatest professor. The names behind that work are rarely on the label, but the work is what makes great wines.” — David Salazar

That understanding — that the work and the worker deserve recognition — is embedded in every bottle Reclamación produces. Sustainable, small-lot, crafted by hand. Not scaled for volume. Made with intention.

Growing against the odds

In our SVL Latino Business Survey, David reported stronger sales and expanding opportunities in 2025 — even while rating the current administration’s economic policies as very negative. That contradiction is the heart of the Reclamación story.

We asked him what is actually driving that growth.

“The wine industry has ignored us as consumers since its inception, and that is starting to change. The Latino dollar is incredibly powerful and what our community chooses to spend it on matters. We are no longer just the labor. We are contributors to the culture and the economy of this industry. People can identify with this brand, with me, with my parents’ story. That is real and it resonates in a way that no amount of marketing spend can manufacture.” — David Salazar

He also gives back to his community — because as he puts it, he knows how much a little help can mean. That reciprocity is embedded in the Reclamación model. Growth is not just personal. It is communal.

But David is clear-eyed about the challenges that remain. Access to capital. Distribution. The cost of getting seen in an industry that has historically looked past people who look like him.

“We keep moving. You learn to do more with less when you have always had to.” — David Salazar

That sentence is worth pausing on. “You learn to do more with less when you have always had to.” It is not resignation. It is resourcefulness forged over generations. It is exactly the kind of resilience that built the California wine industry — and that the industry has never fully acknowledged.

 

 

Reclamación is not about victimhood. It is about strength.

We asked David what it means to reclaim space in the wine industry — and what he wants the next generation of Latino vintners to know.

“It means taking back the narrative about who is creating the wines, who has always been part of this industry, and who deserves to be recognized for it. This brand is not about victimhood. It is about strength and the choice to build something for us and our people. The next generation of Latino vintners should know that the barriers are real, but they are not the whole story.” — David Salazar

That framing — barriers are real, but they are not the whole story — is the SVL editorial philosophy in one sentence. It is why we launched this series. It is why we built ShopLatino.Market. It is why we keep showing up.

Reclamación Wines is currently sold out but a new release is coming soon. Follow them on Instagram @reclamacionwines and at reclamacionwines.com to stay in the loop. Their wines are available in shops in San Francisco and Sacramento and are now moving into the Los Angeles market.

We have always belonged here

David Salazar did not wait for the wine industry to make room for him. He studied the craft, worked the vines, crossed hemispheres to learn from the best — and came home to California to build something with his own name on it.

In an industry where the overwhelming majority of owners do not look like the people who built it, that act of building is itself a reclamation. And Reclamación Wines is not alone. At least 70 Latino-owned wineries across this country — and counting — are doing the same thing. Bottle by bottle. Vintage by vintage. Generation by generation.

We will let David have the last word.

“We have always belonged here. We are the reason this industry exists in California. It is time to be the story, not just the background.”

— David Salazar, Founder of Reclamación Wines

Support Reclamación Wines and our comunidad

Shop: Visit reclamacionwines.com and follow @reclamacionwines on Instagram for their upcoming new release. Their wines are available in San Francisco, Sacramento, and coming soon to Los Angeles.

Discover Latino-owned wineries: SVL has identified at least 70 Latino-owned wineries across the country at ShopLatino.Market — and we are still counting. Find them, support them, and share their stories.

List your winery: If you own a Latino winery or wine brand, claim your free listing on ShopLatino.Market today. Visibility is the first step toward the support you deserve.

Share this article: Send this to someone who loves wine and needs to know this story. Every conversation we start is a step toward closing the gap.

Sources

David Salazar, Founder of Reclamación Wines — original interview responses, April 2026

Reclamación Wines — reclamacionwines.com

ShopLatino.Market — SVL Latino-owned winery directory data, April 2026

SVL Latino Business Survey — November–December 2025

Vinography — The Definitive List of Latinx-Owned Wineries in America, 2023

This is Article 4 in our ongoing series The Latino Business Gap. Read Article 1: They Cut the Ladder, Article 2: Flor de Chile: A Latina Entrepreneur’s Dream One Jar at a Time, and Article 3: The Fourth Largest Economy Nobody Is Talking About at svlatino.com.

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