Send us a text It’s been three and a half years since I launched my first episode, deep in the COVID pandemic and at the helm of a California cider company. A lot has happened since then, I have talked to a lot of amazing people, and I have shared and learned a whole lot about being a female businesswoman in the alcohol industry. But now this podcast is coming to an end to make way for a new partnership, a new direction, and a new podcast. I’m saying both good bye and I’ll see you soon, excited ...
Jun 24, 2024•10 min•Ep. 82
Send us a text Starting a business is tough, especially in the alcohol and hospitality industry. What’s more tough? Shutting it down. But how do you know if you even should? Tracy Gunn of Exitable says you should always have an exit strategy and an end goal. Join us as we walk through what that looks like and how she has lived it herself with her own businesses. It’s a straight talk episode to finish out this amazing podcast journey. Special Mentions: Exitable The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Smal...
May 27, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 83
Send us a text Wendy LeBlanc cut her teeth in the tech industry in Seattle, learning data systems at Microsoft and elsewhere. But the call of cider drew her and her partner to the Black Forest of Germany to set up 1785 Cider company based out of his parent’s farmstead and orchard. She’s blazing a cider trail, slinging apples, and building a market and community in this special place. 1785 Cider Special Mentions: City Fruit Master Fruit Steward Program Kertelkreiter Cider Thank you to Tony Stuck ...
May 13, 2024•46 min•Ep. 82
Send us a text Ever wondered if your website is working well for you? There are specific things that the bar and restaurant industry need to make sure their online presence in their website is doing the best that it can to help their business. Kelsey Gilbert-Kreiling has built a community and a business around designing amazing websites and teaching others to do so with the Week of the Website . She joins me to share her story as she moved through the male-dominated tech space and grew a small b...
Apr 15, 2024•52 min•Ep. 81
Send us a text Born with strong German roots, Anna and Wendelin came up through the entertainment industry in the US, following their passions for film and music. But over the years on the road they fell in love with whiskey. In 2023 they set their sights on building a new brand and a new beverage that builds a community around whiskey and is open and accessible to all. Lodestar Whiskey was born and these ladies are full steam ahead! lodestar (noun) : a star that leads or guides; one that serves...
Apr 01, 2024•47 min•Ep. 80
Send us a text Building a cidery and orchard from scratch on an Island in the Puget Sound in Washington State was a major career shift for Laura Cherry and her husband. Now in its 2nd decade, Dragon’s Head Cider has started true to its traditional english cider roots and added a taproom downtown this fall. Laura joins me to reflect on her cider journey and celebrate the community that she has built under the cider apple and perry pear blossoms. Dragon's Head Cider SHOP! Terms: Methode champanois...
Mar 18, 2024•45 min•Ep. 79
Send us a text Annually the US celebrates and recognizes the amazing achievements of women throughout history and in the present day. What started as a Day turned into a Week and finally in 1987 gained the designation of an entire Month - Women’s History Month. This March we jump into the humble beginnings of this idea and how it grew into an international movement. For better or worse. References: US Census Bureau - International Women's Day The National WWII Museum New Orleans - An Introductio...
Mar 04, 2024•19 min•Ep. 78
Send us a text DC Brau has been a gold standard in craft beer in DC for more than a decade. During that time Paulette Palacios has moved up through the beer scene, learning all the ins and outs of beer buying and building a network within the industry. Today they head up the taproom for the DC Brau Brewery and are instrumental in supporting diversity and equality initiatives in the beer industry across the region. Paulette sits down with me to share how they got here, walk me through a day in th...
Feb 19, 2024•48 min•Ep. 77
Send us a text Monique Allen has spent the last several decades in landscaping, building a thriving business, supporting a team, and recrafting their approach to the industry through the three pillars of planet, people, and profit. From her entrepreneurial experience she has also developed a program called lifescaping to help others build better lives and better businesses in the trades. She joins me to share her journey in another male-dominated industry and share how she has grown and learned ...
Feb 05, 2024•48 min•Ep. 76
Send us a text Amberlee and her husband landed in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for college and have now made their mark by launching the first cidery in town. Together they built a local network, organically grew a business during a pandemic, and now have a thriving space for cidermaking, the arts, and the community. She has built the vision that is Sage Bird Ciderworks and they are crushing it. Literally and figuratively. Special Mentions: Sage Bird Ciderworks CIDER STORE! BOTTLE CLUB! Gla...
Jan 22, 2024•47 min•Ep. 75
Send us a text Here we are! A new year, and a new name for this podcast. I’m changing it up, cleaning it up, getting organized. As I jumped into a rebrand for this podcast, it brought me back to so many points of time along my cider business journey. So here’s why I felt I needed to shake things up and give this podcast a fresh start. But don’t fear! My stories and interviews will be the same and my mission and goals have not changed. Women and the Drinks Biz now offers even more inspiration, mo...
Jan 08, 2024•16 min•Ep. 74
Send us a text I talk a lot about the village in the cider world, and in beer, and in spirits. Michelle Mandro is building a network and a community within the wine world to support and highlight the work and successes of women across the wine industry. Wine Country Women has built a network, printed beautiful books featuring women in wine and spearheads scholarships and mentorships to support members at every level. We talk about what it’s like to be the first to build a network like this and w...
Dec 18, 2023•46 min•Ep. 73
Send us a text Building your organic marketing ecosystem. Say what?? Entrepreneurship takes a lot of work - building a product or service, constructing a business around it, securing sales, and marketing. So much marketing. And the website still reigns supreme as the gateway to your audience online. It must showcase your company culture and purpose while also hitting the right keywords and points. It’s a lot and that’s what Lauren Gaggioli is here to talk about. How do we optimize SEO while also...
Dec 04, 2023•50 min•Ep. 72
Send us a text Sarah Real is a self-taught home brewer out of Brooklyn who, along with her husband, took the giant leap and founded a commercial brewery in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. She loves fermenting traditional beers but also highlighting the ingredients and pushing the flavor profile to construct new and interesting brews. She joins me to share her brewing journey and what it took to set up a taproom for Hot Plate Brewing Company and a community of their own. Hot Plate Brewing @hotpl...
Nov 20, 2023•49 min•Ep. 71
Send us a text In 2017 when we were a couple years into South City Ciderworks we launched an effort to find a new location for a taproom/tasting room. We looked up the peninsula and down the peninsula. We looked at our own location and down in South Bay. So many places and so many letdowns. I’m stepping back in time to share our tale of shopping around for a taproom for our cidery and all the reasons it never worked out. I’d like to think it shines some light on where we were going with the bran...
Nov 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 70
Send us a text She’s an activist, a survivor, an entrepreneur, and a mentor. Virginia Lacayo has been through a lot growing up in Nicaragua and is here to share her story and how she has learned to be her own advocate and fight for the rights of other women and minorities. Anyone can be an activist but sometimes you just need a little help to get that change started. Luckily there are people like Virginia who can guide the way. Special Mentions Massive Systemic Change - We partner with leaders w...
Oct 21, 2023•54 min
Send us a text It’s all about the Power of One! Katy Dang of Cider Sister’s Cider in Idaho has stayed true to the traditional cidermaking processes of old and as a one woman business has built a brand and a following around her cider. Her path took her from one coast to another and across the pond and back. Join us as she shares what she has learned along the way and how she keeps it real and keeps it simple with her aged dry cider. Cider Sister's Cider Resources: Washington State University Ext...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Send us a text Mae Littlefield had a couple of different businesses under her belt before she set out with her husband to develop and build a beautiful distillery in Southern Maine complete with a lovely lineup of craft spirits foraged from all parts of the state and showcasing the amazing smells and tastes of this unique New England region. But it has not come without its challenges. Special Mentions: Wild Bevy Distilling Hardshore Distilling Company Thank you to Tony Stuck for the awesome intr...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 67
Send us a text Johnny Appleseed is an American folk hero, myth, and legend. But he was also an actual man. On this episode we go back to the time of John Chapman to relive his story and learn about his contribution to cider and the American apples culture. It’s a far cry from the happy go lucky Disney version but like with most legends, there are always seeds of truth. Thank you so much to those who were referenced for the content in this episode. I cut and pasted a bunch and I appreciate the ti...
Sep 11, 2023•21 min•Ep. 66
Send us a text We’re heading to Michigan to talk with Molly Stepanski , co-owner of Presque Isle Farm and Cider . She and her husband have learned by trial and error what works and what doesn’t on a farm and have created a successful vegetable farm and small batch hard cider brand as well, complete with a brick and mortar tasting room in town. Join us as Molly shares her cider journey and how she has conquered obstacles all along the way to create something amazing. Special Mentions: Presque Isl...
Aug 28, 2023•53 min•Ep. 65
Send us a text Every year COVID aside the Central Coast of California cider community comes together to host an amazing event so aptly named: the Central Coast Cider Festival. The event showcases ciders from all over the state, poured by the producers themselves. There’s music, and food trucks, and did I mention tons of cider? If you’re nearby, check it out. If you’re not look around and you might find one just like it nearby. For this episode I sit down with the planning team to share all about...
Aug 07, 2023•59 min•Ep. 64
Send us a text Entrepreneurship can be something learned from family or passed down through generations. Or it comes to us as special opportunities to build something new and watch it grow. As a serial entrepreneur, Carina Ramirez Cahan has been building companies over the years to meet different needs. First it was in the area of biofuel and now she is setting her sights on disrupting the bra industry with an innovative wireless option. This New Yorker joins me to talk about what it takes to di...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 63
Send us a text Inventory tracking, production scheduling, ingredient buying, vendor relations, task organization. All the critical yet not very sexy responsibilities that go into getting that craft drink in your hand. My former co-worker Alisha Blue joins me as we share a day in the life of production management. When everything is going right until it all goes very wrong. What needs to happen and how you adapt in the constantly shifting world of alcohol production. Online Production Management ...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 62
Send us a text Her cider journey has taken her from a HUGE commercial cidery in Michigan to a small production cidery and tasting room in North Carolina where they use pet nat processes and disgorging. And each experience feeds her passion for cider and the apples that make it. Becca Galvin joins me to share her wild cider ride and share how she has made a place for herself both behind the bar and behind the scenes. Enjoy! Special Mentions and Resources: Virtue Cider Botanist & Barrel Cidery...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 61
Send us a text Annie Delre was intrigued at an early age by human nature and why we do the things we do. She harnessed that inquisitiveness into becoming a health and wellness coach for those trying to make their lives more productive, goal-oriented, harmonious, and happy. She joins us today to share some resources that she uses to help us reduce the stress, improve time management and increase our general sense of self worth. It’s a crash course in coaching so you better hold on. Resources : Co...
Jun 12, 2023•51 min•Ep. 60
Send us a text She has three kids under 10, she’s running one of the most successful cideries in West Virginia, she’s the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the American Cider Association and she balances it all so well. Brooke Glover shares how she built Swilled Dog Cider from the garage up and how she’s making it all work. Swilled Dog Cider - Visit their site to order some cider, see tasting room hours, and see what they're all about. Special Mentions Smooth Ambler Spirits Still Holl...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 59
Send us a text Amy Reiley has a website, cookbook, and built a small publishing company so that she could help other independent writers get their cookbooks out to the people. She is also the leading authority in aphrodisiac gastronomy, blending chemistry and the power of persuasion into crafting the book on what you can eat to make you better in bed. She has a passion for the history and cultures around food and now shares her journey and the lessons she has learned along the way. An aphrodisia...
May 15, 2023•49 min•Ep. 58
Send us a text Virginia has a thriving wine culture and tradition where Corry Craighill continues to make her mark as a winemaker. Now at Septenary Winery in Central Virginia, Corry has learned both the art and science of making wine through hands-on experiences at wineries on multiple continents. She shares her journey and advice she has for carving out a name for yourself and finding the position that fits you best. Special Mentions: Virginia Wine Jefferson Vineyards Blenheim Vineyards King Fa...
May 01, 2023•55 min•Ep. 57
Send us a text This is a thing. You’ve poured your heart and soul into a business, a career, a relationship. It’s toxic, you’re emotional, you’re drained, you’re not yourself. Yet you stay with it because you think it’s worth it. You’ve invested so much. The sunk cost fallacy is absolutely a thing and here is my story of how it impacted us and our cider company. And disclaimer - this might not be pretty. Thank you to Tony Stuck for the awesome intro/outro music and to Mary Ann King for the amazi...
Apr 17, 2023•28 min•Ep. 56
Send us a text HOPS! They're required to make beer and tastes mighty nice in cider as well! Because I didn’t know most of this myself, I want to take you on a brief tour of hops - what the hell are they? Why and how they are used in beer, the history of growing them in the US, and why we liked them so much, we made a flagship cider with them for South City Ciderworks. Cited References: Hop Growers of America - Growing Hops is Thirsty Work The Guardian - A Brief History of IPA Great Lakes Hops - ...
Apr 03, 2023•28 min•Ep. 55
