Women and the Drinks Biz
Owning an alcohol business is tough! Let's talk about it! I will take you through my journey of starting South City Ciderworks in SF and delve deep into the details of creating a product, building a market, and educating consumers about cider. But it’s not just my story of being a woman in this male-dominated industry that I want to tell. You’ll hear from other ladies inside and outside the biz as well! Join me on this wild ride whether you're looking to start an alcohol business, work in the alcohol industry, or are just interested in what goes on behind that glass you just ordered at the bar. Slainte!
Episodes
85 episodes
Podcast FINALE and Next Chapter
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...
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Episode 82
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10:06
Closing the Taproom Doors - How, When and What to Do with Tracy Gunn
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...
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Episode 83
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59:36
1785 Cider: Blazing a Modern Cider Trail in Germany with Wendy
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...
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Episode 82
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45:32
Is Your Taproom Website Working for You? with Kesley Gilbert-Kreiling
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 Gilbe...
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Episode 81
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51:57
Lodestar Whiskey: Building a Whiskey Brand for Women with Anna and Wendelin
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 sig...
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Episode 80
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46:38
Dragon's Head Cider: Small and Fierce PNW Cider with Laura Cherry
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 tradition...
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Episode 79
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45:03
Women's History Month - A History and a Commentary
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 Mont...
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Episode 78
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19:22
DC Brau: How to Make Beer for All! with Paulette
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 in...
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Episode 77
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48:01
Get Out and Lifescape with Monique Allen
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 ex...
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Episode 76
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48:20
Sage Bird Ciderworks: Apple-achian Cider with Amberlee
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 hav...
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Episode 75
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47:00
Women and the Drinks Biz Podcast = A New Year and a New Name!
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’...
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Episode 74
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16:28
Wine Country Women: A Voice for Women in Wine with Michelle Mandro
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 ...
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Episode 73
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46:23
Organic Online Marketing is NOT HARD or SCARY! with Lauren Gaggioli
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 suprem...
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Episode 72
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49:54
Hot Plate Brewing: Brewing in the Berkshires with Sarah
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 th...
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Episode 71
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49:21
Our Failed Search for a Taproom
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 m...
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Episode 70
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33:20
Call Up Your Inner Activist! with Virginia Lacayo, PhD
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 a...
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54:18
Cider Sister's Cider: Traditional Cider in Idaho with Katy
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...
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Season 68
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1:01:37
Wild Bevy Distilling: Foraged Craft Spirits in Maine with Mae
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 s...
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Episode 67
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1:08:36
History of Cider in the US - Johnny Appleseed - The Man Behind the Legend
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 cult...
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Episode 66
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21:10
Presque Isle Cider: Farm Cider in Northern Michigan with Molly
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 far...
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Episode 65
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52:37
Behind the Scenes: Central Coast Cider Festival
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 themsel...
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Episode 64
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58:38
Dig Deep and Stay Courageous! with Carina Ramirez Cahan, Cobalt Rose
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 comp...
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Episode 63
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1:08:42
Corralling the Cider Chaos with Co-Host Alisha Blue
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 ...
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Episode 62
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1:12:49
Virtue Cider and Botanist and Barrel: A Tour through all the Tasks in Cider with Becca
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 a...
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Episode 61
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1:10:20
Crash Course in Beating Stress with Life Coach Annie Delre
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, harmonio...
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Episode 60
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50:40
