[2] Rideau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, a paternal descendant of Frenchman Armand Allard Gabriel Duplantier who sailed to America in 1777 on Marquis de Lafayette's ship La Victoire and established a plantation in Point Coupee, and later the Magnolia Mound plantation in Baton Rouge.
Rideau has said of her employment at the factory and decision to take night classes, "The line of mostly Black and Hispanic women would wrap around the corner in the mornings.
She graduated after a year and began working as a receptionist for an insurance agency, passing as a white woman to keep her job.
Rideau gained much respect in Los Angeles for her activism in the 1960s, and from 1973 to 1976, she was appointed as Chairman to the Mayor’s Affirmative Action Committee, under then-Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a job which involved securing employment for hundreds of ethnic minority women in the city.
[5] Rideau employed an architect and winemaker to transform an adobe house into a wine tasting centre, with bathroom and kitchen facilities.
"[2] Rideau is interested in the production of Rhone wines, and produces Syrah, Mourvedre, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier.
[9] Black Enterprise magazine has said that she "effortlessly combines delectable grapes from the Rhone Valley of France with the savory taste of Creole cuisine in her winery.
[1] Pamela M. Kalte has stated that her "success in the competitive world of vines and vineyards seems surprising, given that she knew nothing about wines before setting up Rideau.