Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Will Maroun, CEO, Griffo Distillery We will talk about: The 10 year operating history of Griffo, What ‘scientifically crafted spirits’ means, The operating condition of the distillery when you arrived, The vision you had for the distillery when you arrived, Operating changes you instituted after you began, Sales and margin growth which constitute success in the white spirits industry, The impact on sales of winning “America’s Greatest London Dry Gin” for...
Aug 19, 2025•49 min
Guest: Nancy Anne Lang, Ph.D - Founder of Safari West We will talk about: 1) your 30+ years running Safari West, 2) your 20 years at SF Zoo and as general curator, 3) the challenge of setting up Safari West in Sonoma County, 4) why a safari experience vs. a zoo, 5) the difficulty of securing’ exotic animals to house in the reserve, 6) the challenge of ‘selling the concept’, 7) the pricing challenge: deciding what to charge, 8) number of visitors per month, per year, 9) accreditation - necessary ...
Aug 12, 2025•51 min
Guest: Dennis Hengeveld Director of Consignments & Senior Numismatist | Stack’s Bowers Galleries We will talk about: 1. the 5 banks in Sonoma County which you include in your book (FNB Geyserville, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma) and ask about: 2. the founders and their impact on their communities, 3. What did Sonoma do between 1846 and 1912 in regard to currency, 4. who owns the ‘rare surviving’ examples of the currency the banks issued (can they be viewed and what are they worth)...
Aug 06, 2025•55 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Paul Jaffe, President Copperfield’s Books, Inc. We will discuss: 1) your 40+ years in the book business, 2) how the business of selling books has changed over the years, 3) how book buying has changed over time (book store owners and consumers - hard copy, kindle downloads, audible), 4) how your approach to books and the selling of books has evolved over time, 5) what makes for a best-selling book, 6) fiction vs. non-fiction - which is more popular and w...
Aug 01, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Chris Bitter, PhD - Senior Wine Analyst We will talk about: 1) the economics of the wine industry (in general), 2) how the economics of the industry has changed over the years (pre-tariff), 3) the effect of tariffs on grape growing, 4) the impact of tariffs on wine making, 5) the effect of tariffs on wine bottling, 6) the effects of tariffs on wine storage, 7) the impact of tariffs on wine distribution, 8) percent of wine production currently exported (p...
Jul 23, 2025•53 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Doug Keane, Proprietor, Cyrus Restaurant, Geyserville, CA We will talk about: 1) what attracted you to cooking (growing up in Dearborn, MI - auto country), 2) your formative years in the restaurant business, 3) why were some in the industry ‘hell-bent on destroying your dream’, 4) why is it an almost impossible business in which to survive, 5) difference between success and failure in the restaurant business, 6) what makes the hospitality industry dysfun...
Jul 23, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Michaela Rodeno, Women in Wine Pioneer We will talk about:1) why you entered the wine industry, 2) what the industry was like when you started in 1973, 3) the daunting challenge of a 2-person operation at Moet & Chandon’s Domaine Chandon (first major French wine investment in the U.S.), 4) your strategies and objectives for that start-up, 5) what you hoped to achieve as VP of Marketing, 6) the importance of starting the Chandon Club to the company an...
Jul 01, 2025•56 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Carolyn Fulton, Cemetery Manager, City of Sonoma We will talk about: 1) your 20+ years in cemetery management- how/why you got into the field, 2) what cemetery management involves, 3) how Sonoma’s cemeteries differ from those in Petaluma, 4) the condition of Sonoma’s cemeteries when you began, 5) reasons why the City of Sonoma was unable to sell the cemeteries, 6) is sale of the cemeteries your ultimate objective, 7) why was a cemetery study required to ...
Jun 24, 2025•51 min
Host: Scot Hunter Guests: Anna & Frank Pope, Co-Trustees, Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation We will talk about Bartholomew Park: The Legacy – A look at the history of the property and its remarkable evolution. The Foundation – How the two of you got involved, how the estate is being preserved and how it is able to fund the ongoing operations of the park. The Present Experience – A conversation about what makes Bartholomew Park so special today—from the winery and gardens to the upper trails an...
Jun 10, 2025•50 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Blair Kellison - CEO of Om Mushrooms We will talk about: We would discuss with you: 1) your time at Nestle and what you learned there, 2) your discovery of ‘a whole new world of healthy, organic, fair trade products’, 3) what the industry was like when you ‘discovered it’, 4) why you took a 70% pay cut to work for an organic, vegetarian food company in Petaluma, 5) the market receptivity to such a company - selling strategy, 6) what you hoped to achieve ...
May 21, 2025•55 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Dr. James Sallee, Co-Director, Master of Climate Solutions at UC Berkeley. An expert on electric vehicles. We will talk about: 1) the big environmental debate: gas vs. batteries - which is better?, 2) the economic cost of each form of propulsion, 3) environmental impact of battery production and disposal, 4) electricity used to charge EVs - from renewable sources or fossil fuels?, 5) are EVs an ‘overblown’ concept?, 6) drivers’ negative reaction to Musk ...
May 13, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guests: Wine Women Co-founders Marcia Macomber, Ellen Luchtel, Jackie Egidio and President Ashley Burnett. We will talk about: 1) your founding of Wine Women almost 10 years ago - how and why you did it, 2) your prior experience as long-time former directors of the Napa-Sonoma chapter of Women for WineSense, 3) what was Women for WineSense and how does Wine Women differ from it, 4) your objectives for Wine Women, 5) your assessment of the progress women have ma...
May 06, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Lynda Najarian - Founder, Judy’s Breadsticks We would discuss: 1) your growing up in Japan and how it Influenced your perspective on lifestyle and food, 2) your ‘bread discovery’ in Mendocino in 1993, 3) why that bread sparked a ln entrepreneurial streak in you, 4) how you started Judy’s Breadsticks, 5) how you achieved distribution of the product, 6) how you negotiated product placement in stores, 7) your ability to measure customer response, 8) why you...
Apr 29, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest:Max Pond - Head coach of the Sonoma Valley High School Dragons football team We will talk about: 1) your personal history in football, 2) why you decided to coach, 3) your impressions of past coaching methods - which succeeded/which failed, 4) what or who influenced your coaching ‘style’ the most, 5) what motivates players the most, 6) how you ‘sell’ your philosophy of team unity, 7) when you realize that players are ‘buying into’ your coaching vision and...
Apr 08, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Barbara Boyle, Author, “Pinch Me: Waking up in a 300-year-old Italian Farmhouse" We will talk about: 1) how you got into advertising, 2) your years in the industry, 3) your perspective on client expectations of advertising effectiveness, 4) how you measured account success, 5) examples of your best work and why you considered them the best, 6) differences in operating results of the firms you worked with, 7) your decision to leave the industry, 8) your ‘...
Apr 04, 2025•53 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Karissa Kruse - CEO and President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW) We will talk about: SCW is a marketing and educational organization dedicated to increase the value of Sonoma County wine grapes and to nurture and protect this agricultural resource for future generations. sonomawinegrape.org/
Apr 04, 2025•48 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Dermot Coll, Co-Owner Murphy’s Irish Pub, Sonoma We will talk about: 1) why/how you became involved in Irish-focused hospitality, 2) your more than 25 year ownership of the Abbey Tavern, 3) how you manage both the construction business and the restaurant/pub business, 4) why you acquired Murphy’s in 2017, 5) how Murphy’s differs from the Abbey Tavern, 6) how the customers of Murphy’s differ from those at the Abbey Tavern, 7) which Irish beers sell best, ...
Mar 17, 2025•54 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Ron Lawson, Managing Director, LOGIC Advisors LLC We will talk about: 1) your years in commodities trading, 2) your 20 years of LOGIC Advisors and Steadfast Futures and Options 3) why you chose Sonoma for LOGIC headquarters, 4) the applicability of commodities to portfolio planning and diversification 5) the use of commodities hedging in ag management, 6) the impact of climate change on agricultural crops and commodities trading, a 7) your perspective on...
Mar 10, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Debbie Ratner - Owner, Bossa Nova Clothing on Broadway We will talk about: 1) your years in the retail business - how/why you started in the industry, 2) the challenge of being the owner of a boutique clothing store - hours, pricing of garments, carrying of inventory, etc., 3) your years as a buyer of women’s fashions, 4) how you ‘speculate’ on what women will wear, 5) what influences women’s purchase decisions the most - friends, reading material, visua...
Mar 04, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Ananda Sweet - CEO, Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce We will talk about: 1) your recent appointment as CEO of SRMC, 2) your being the first female CEO of SRMC in its 118 years, 3) the difference between being interim CEO and CEO in terms of leadership and policy making, 4) how your leadership will differ from past direction and results, 5) size of Santa Rosa ‘Gross City Product in 2024 and expected growth rate in 2025, 6) trends in Santa Rosa busines...
Feb 25, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Jeff Schween, real estate columnist for the Press Democrat We will talk about: 1) your years in Sonoma County residential real estate, 2) a historical perspective on cycles in the real estate industry you have had to contend with, 3) the current state of North Bay residential real estate, 4) the indicators you look for to suggest upturns and downturns in the market, 5) how realistic are sellers of homes, 6) current days in market data for homes, 7) curre...
Feb 18, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Vicki Handron, Sonoma Immigrant Services We will talk about: 1) your work with Sonoma Immigration Services, 2) your perspective on the economic contribution of immigration to Sonoma County (we would make use of other sources of statistics, too), 3) how the ‘immigrant experience’ in Sonoma has changed over the years, 4) immigrant success stories (not by name), 5) why immigrants come to Sonoma, 6) what immigrants want when they move to Sonoma, 7) the range...
Feb 11, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Saul Gropman, Former Owner, Cafe LaHaye We will talk about: How he’s been spending his first days of retirement? What made him decide to sell the restaurant? What did he enjoy most about running a restaurant/ What were the biggest headaches running a restaurant? How did Cafe LaHaye handle Covid? What do you plan to do in retirement? He has taught classical guitar at the university level - will you go back to that? Do you plan to perform? What are you fin...
Feb 04, 2025•50 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Megan Gorman, Author and founder, managing partner of Chequers Financial Management, We will talk about: 1) why you wrote the book, 2) which Presidents you might have assumed to have been most successful in managing their money, when you started 3) results which surprised you, 4) lessons on managing personal wealth which readers will learn, 5) Presidents whose wealth grew most during their n administrations, 6) lessons Presidents may have learned during ...
Jan 28, 2025•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Samantha Paone - Founder, Golden State Pickle Works We will talk about: How Sam first got interested in pickling, fermenting and sustainability Sam has been a vendor at the Sonoma Farmer’s Market for 10 years - we’ll talk about how that started and what role the market plays in her overall business strategy Golden State Pickle Works - what the business does How did she come to start GSPW? Her new cooking show, “Jarring Everything” Where will we be able t...
Jan 21, 2025•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Glenn Proctor - Partner, The Ciatti Company and Owner Puccioni Ranch We will talk about: 1) your family’s history in Dry Creek, 2) your years in the wine industry as a vineyard owner, 3) your becoming co-owner of the world’s largest broker of bulk wine and grapes, 4) how you manage to do both, 5) trends in the California wine industry over the past 7-8 years, 6) the decline in consumer spending on wine: how much and why, 7) how large is the industry’s in...
Jan 07, 2025•50 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Katherine Fulton, Philanthropy Expert We will talk about: 1) How & why you got started in philanthropy, 2) Why your shift from journalism to philanthropy?, 3) Your years at Monitor Institute (how to define a ‘social sector consulting firm’), 4) How one should ‘think about’ philanthropy - selfless giving or having a say in the outcome, 5) Should social change be the objective of one’s giving?, 6) What is the impact of philanthropy?, Are outcomes alway...
Dec 30, 2024•54 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guests: Sidney Jean Painter & Mary Lee Rybar Topic: This is the second annual “Holiday Show”. Sidney, Kip’s spouse and Mary Lee, Scot’s spouse. Join us for a free flowing conversation about holiday happenings in Sonoma and around and beyond. maryleerybar.com
Dec 26, 2024•52 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Harvey Cohen We will talk about: 1) your years in the food service industry, 2) how and why you chose to enter it, 3) why you focused on donuts, especially ‘mini donuts’ 4) how many different kinds of donuts you make, 5) which types of donuts sell best, how you define ‘gourmet’ donuts, 6) how you market your company, 7) how consumer tastes in donuts have changed over time, 8) how you compete with Danish & Donuts, Dirty Girl Donuts, supermarket bakery...
Dec 17, 2024•51 min
Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter Guest: Sherry & Jeff Soleski, Comet Corn Popcorn, Inc. We will talk about: 1) your 20+ years making and selling Comet Corn 2) how and why you got started in the business, 3) the origin of the brand name, 4) your ability to sell into a very competitive market, 5) how and where you sell the product, 6) how you develop new popcorn flavors, 7) competitive factors which have affected your industry, 8) whom you see as your prime competitors, 9) how ‘snack selling...
Dec 10, 2024•51 min
