The Alexi Cashen Podcast
by Alexi Cashen
The Alexi Cashen Podcast is the show where host Alexi Cashen talks with inspirational people in the wine, beer, and spirits space. Listen in as she talks with industry experts to get tips and information on a transforming industry.
Episodes
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Delivering Wine Worldwide With James Miles
James Miles is the Chairman, Managing Director, and Co-founder of Liv-ex, the leading marketplace and data source for secondary sales of fine wine. Liv-ex has a membership that spans across 560 wine companies from 43 countries. Members can trade confidently and anonymously with other wine...
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Delivering a Natural Wine Experience
Sarah Shadonix is the Founder and CEO of Scout & Cellar, a Clean-Crafted™, woman-founded and led winery that has created a higher standard for how wine is made by creating a more authentic, sustainable, and delicious approach to the wine-making process. After several years of practicing…
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Almost Anything is Possible
Bryan Monteleone is the Co-founder of Drinkubator, a company that lives at the collision of beverages and technology and leverages digital strategy for spirits, RTDs, wine, and non-alcoholic brands to help them make better business decisions based on live data and analytics. Bryan oversees…
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Zero Compromises on Pure Ingredients With Anna Lundstrom
Anna Lundstrom and her husband founded Folksy Hard Kombucha, a better-for-you alcoholic beverage that's more thoughtful and more enjoyable. At Folksy, they are committed to pure ingredients and honest practices that put people and the planet first. Their better-for-you alcoholic drink is made…
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Threats to the Sustainability of the Cork Industry
Carlos de Jesus is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Amorim Cork, the largest cork producer in the world. He played rugby at the national level before cutting his teeth at Breakstone & Ruth LLP, a leading New York-based investor and shareholder relations firm where he worked in…
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Year in Review: Female Founder Series, Launching St. Hildie's, and Much More
Alexi Cashen is the Co-founder and CEO of Elenteny Imports, a multifaceted logistics company dedicated to growing its partners' businesses in the wine, beer, and spirits industry. She is also the Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of St. Hildie's Spiked Tincture Tonics, boozy craft tonics made…
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Gina Fugina On Flavorful Wines From Spain and Giving Back
Gina Fugina is a passionate female Spanish wine importer and the Owner of Able Beverage LLC, a Maine-based Spanish wine import company. Able Beverage imports high-quality biodynamic, vegan, and certified organic Spanish wines to more than 15 states, including Maine, California, New York…
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Curating a Dope Palate With Helen Johannesen
Helen Johannesen is the Owner and Founder of Helen's Wines, a naturally-driven and organically farmed wine shop. She is also the Director of Operations and the Beverage Director at Jon & Vinny's restaurant and all associated restaurants, including Animal, Son of a Gun, and Petit Trois. She is...
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Foraging Cleaner Alcohol Options With Donna Katz
Donna Katz is the Founder and CEO of G's Hard Ginger Beer, a ready-to-drink dry hard ginger beer brand made with 100% real ingredients. She is focused on bringing natural, cleaner, and transparent ingredients to the alcohol beverage space. Donna is an Australian native and moved to Napa Valley,...
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The Rewards of Working in Alcohol Compliance With Marisa Wilairat
Marisa Wilairat is the Alcohol Compliance Manager at Elenteny Imports, a multi-faceted logistics company dedicated to growing its partners' businesses in the wine, beer, and spirits industry. The Elenteny team handles all the details of compliance, logistics, and delivery for their clients so…
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Helping Consumers Discover Wine, Sippd's Blake Hershey
Blake Hershey is the Founder and CEO of Sippd, an AI-powered plugin and app that helps users discover their new favorite wines using Taste Match technology. Blake has a background in the aerospace and technology industries, working at companies including NASA and JPL. He founded Sippd in 2019…
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Natural Wine as Philosophy With Roni Ginach
Roni Ginach is the Owner of Roni Selects, an importer and distributor of natural wine made by a community of savants. When she was studying at New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, she worked in the food hospitality and wine industry — and had her first taste of being a sommelier. Roni has...
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For the Love of Flavor, Palm Bay International's Diana Novak
Diana Novak joined Palm Bay International in 2010, one of the leading wine and spirits importers in the country, to spearhead education for the spirits portfolio and serve as a connection between distributors and key accounts in Chicago and the Midwest markets. Diana was promoted as the National...
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Female Founder Series, Wheyward Spirit's Emily Darchuk
Emily Darchuk is the Founder and CEO of Wheyward Spirit, a farm-to-flask, award-winning company that creates specialty spirits made from upcycled ingredients. Emily forged her career as a food scientist in the natural food and dairy industry before disrupting the liquor sector through ingenuity…
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Female Founder Series, Owl's Brew's Jennie Ripps
Jennie Ripps is a tea sommelier and the Founder and CEO of Owl's Brew, which offers a range of fresh-brewed, organic tea and botanical-based mixers as well as spiked, sparkling boozy teas. Jennie is also the Founder of Brew Lab Tea, a company specializing in crafting custom blends in partnership...
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Female Founder Series, Drink Ramona's Jordan Salcito
Jordan Salcito has been curious about wine since learning her grandfather made it in his basement and fell head over heels for it since her first harvest in Burgundy in 2006. She began her career in New York as a hostess at wd~50 before becoming a prep cook at DANIEL, sommelier and manager at...
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Female Founder Series, 21 Seeds' Kat Hantas
Kat Hantas is the CEO of 21 Seeds, an all-female-founded, all-natural, fruit-infused tequila brand. They are committed to using all-natural ingredients, both in their tequilas and cocktails. Their three signature infusions are Cucumber Jalapeño, Grapefruit Hibiscus, and Valencia Orange, which can...
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Female Founder Series, Sufferfest Beer Co.'s Caitlin Landesberg
Caitlin Landesberg was the Founder and CEO of Sufferfest Beer Company. She grew and scaled her brand to success through strategic marketing and determination — ultimately, selling her brand to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. She has experience as a marketing executive working for Adobe…
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Organic, Terroir-Driven, Single Farm Irish Whisky, Waterford's Grace O'Reilly
Grace O'Reilly is an Agronomist for Waterford Whiskey, where she combines passion with agriculture. Grace grew up on a sheep and suckler-to-beef farm in the northeast of Ireland and is from a fifth-generation farming family. Her previous roles include working at Minch Malt, where she gained...
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The E-Commerce Muscle, City Hive's Hyper Growth with Aimee Cronin
Aimee Cronin is the Vice President of Trade Growth for City Hive, an omnichannel commerce platform for over 2,500 wine, beer, and spirit retailers. City Hive combines mobile apps, websites, and advanced customer engagement into one easy-to-use system. Aimee is also the President of Little Big…
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How Moxie Made a Wine Designer, Scout Driscoll of VINT
Scout Driscoll is the Founder and CEO of VINT, Wine Branding & Design, based in Chicago. Her all-woman studio expertly guides wine brands through strategic branding and packaging evolutions, digital design, and more. She is a firm believer in storytelling through innovation, and her company…
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The Virtual Future for the Wine Industry, Sara Moll
Sara Moll is the Founder and CEO of Vin Social, a premium virtual hospitality solution. Vin Social delivers a service for companies to connect with and entertain their most valued audiences through craft wine and spirits. Sara's approach to the alcoholic beverages industry combines storytelling...
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No Boundaries for Kate Holden, CEO & Canadian Wine Queen
Kate Holden is the Owner of De Luca Fine Wines, one of Canada's fastest-growing private wine and spirits brands that offers retail, e-commerce, and subscription box delivery. She truly marches to the beat of her own drum and is passionate about taking wine to the next level by enhancing customer...
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A Winery's Dream, Founder of InnoVint, Ashley DuBois Leonard
Ashley DuBois Leonard is the Founder and CEO of InnoVint, a revolutionary wine production management software company. Ashley founded InnoVint to solve existing issues with wine-related software by offering a reliable, precise software solution made by winemakers, for winemakers. Before founding...
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The Authentic Pioneer, Deborah Brenner of Women of the Vine & Spirits
Deborah Brenner is a social entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits, a membership-based organization that is dedicated to making the wine, beer, and spirits industry more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Women of the Vine & Spirits seeks to empower women across the…
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Amy Ezrin on the Success of Specialization (and Singing Opera)
Amy Ezrin is a Member at The Piedmont Guy, a national importer of fine wines exclusively from the Italian region of Piedmont. Amy is also an Independent Wine Consultant at Amy Ezrin Consulting, where she helps wineries position their brand, coordinate with importers, and increase sales. Over the...
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Bonded by Community, Maria Calvert Launches Hispanics in Wine
Maria Calvert is the Co-founder of Hispanics in Wine, a social organization dedicated to showcasing Hispanic/Latinx roots in the alcoholic beverage and hospitality industry. Hispanics in Wine promotes equality, embraces diversity, and helps Hispanic/Latinx professionals advance in the wine...
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Kate Laughlin, CEO of Iconic Martine's Wines on Becoming a Wine Industry Entrepreneur
Kate Laughlin is the CEO of Martine's Wines, a 42-year-old fine wine importation and distribution company for French and Portuguese wines. She is also the Director of the US Wine Trade Alliance. Kate stands out as a passionate entrepreneur and an enlightening leader. Throughout her career, she…
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A Conversation Between Women In Wine with Emily Gold and Liz Willette Danneels A Co-Interview with The Fine Line & The Alexi Cashen Podcast
Liz Willette Danneels first developed a love of wine while working for the luxury travel company Butterfield & Robinson. After a year in Burgundy and five years in Italy, she taught herself about wine mainly by buying the best bottles she could afford, studying them, and (of course) drinking…
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Christy Frank on Macro Economics & Romance Novels
Christy Frank is a passionate entrepreneur, gifted professional, retail mastermind, saleswoman, advanced sommelier, author, speaker, and educator based in New York City. She is a seasoned wine professional with 20+ years of experience in all US wine trade tiers, ranging from large, global drinks...
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What to do with Drinks Industry Data? 3x3 Insights has the Answer
Mike Provance, is the CEO and Founder of 3x3 Insights LLC. 3x3 Insights is a marketing platform for beer, wine, and spirits retailers and brands. The company aggregates off-premise and on-premise consumer purchase information in the beverage alcohol space along with third party data to provide...
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Risks of Life, Marisa Wilairat Shares Her Wisdom
Marisa Wilairat is the Alcohol Compliance Manager at Elenteny Imports, a multi-faceted logistics company dedicated to growing their partners' businesses in the wine, beer, and spirits industry. Elenteny handles all the details of compliance, logistics, and delivery for their clients so that their...
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Rockstar Bartender, Aaron Polsky Sets the Stage for Craft RTD Cocktails
Aaron Polsky is an innovator, award-winning bartender, influencer, musician, and entrepreneur. He is renowned for his creative cocktail programs that demonstrate a reverence for the classics while showing an affinity for the modern. He began his hospitality career in New York City at the age of 1...
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Lessons Learned from Starting a Podcast in 2020
Alexi Cashen is the CEO of Elenteny Imports, a multifaceted logistics company dedicated to growing their partners' businesses in the wine, beer, and spirits industry. Alexi is fondly called the 'Chief Executive Optimist'—spreading the gospel of empathetic customer service, sales panache, and...
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Speakeasy's E-Commerce Boom: Josh Jacobs at the Helm
Josh Jacobs is the Co-Founder and CEO of Speakeasy Co., an e-commerce and logistics platform that allows beverage alcohol brands to sell directly to consumers from their website. As the leading DTC solution for beverage alcohol brands, Speakeasy Co. empowers their partners and helps them sell...
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Rebecca Banks: McNally Restaurant Group Veteran on New Beginnings
Rebecca Banks is the former Beverage Director of the Keith McNally restaurant group in New York City. A wine professional extraordinaire, Rebecca was formerly the Beverage Director of Balthazar and was a Wine Educator at The International Culinary Institute. In this episode… From a fashion design...
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Ari Weinzweig on Success = Vision, Mission Plus a Healthy Ecosystem
Ari Weinzweig is the Founding Partner of Zingerman's Community of Businesses (ZCoB), a family of small food-related companies and entrepreneurial ventures that includes Zingerman's Delicatessen, Zingerman's Creamery, and Zingerman's Bakehouse, ZingTrain, and more. No two businesses in the...
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How to Gamify Sales: CEO Christian Troy Shares the Holy Grail
Christian Troy is the CEO of Indie Wineries. Indie Wineries is a family-run operation that supports other family-owned businesses. They provide sales distribution for a select group of micro wineries in 7 states and they believe that the future of the wine business is in being connected to all…
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Delphine Gardére, CEO of The Oldest Haitian Rum Distillery: Rhum Barbancourt
Delphine Gardére is the CEO of the iconic Haitian rum distillery, Rhum Barbancourt. It is both the oldest and biggest rum exporter of Haiti. Rhum Barbancourt was founded on March 18, 1862 by Dupré Barbancourt who used the Charente method of double distillation that was usually reserved for…
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Maggie Henriquez: CEO of Krug on Amplifying Attitude
Maggie Henriquez is President and CEO of the illustrious champagne house, Krug. The House of Krug is at the very top of the Champagne industry. It is the house that has created Prestige Champagnes since 1843. Before becoming the President and CEO of Krug, Maggie was the President of the…
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Juliana Colangelo: Creative Pivots & Integrated Communication
Juliana Colangelo is the Vice President, California, for Colangelo & Partners. Colangelo & Partners is an integrated communications firm that propels a brand story across the modern media landscape for beverage alcohol brands seeking to grow their business in the US and beyond. In this episode……
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Sales Rep Series | Boulder, CO: Liz Willette Danneels @ Natural Wine Co.
Liz Willette Danneels is the Sales Manager and Sale Boulder at the Natural Wine Company, Colorado's leading distributor of fine wine made naturally. Prior to moving to Boulder a few years ago, Liz was a partner in Grand Cru Selections based in New York, an incredible importer of old world wines.
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Sales Rep Series | Dallas, TX: Kyle Groombridge @ Victory Wine Group
Kyle Groombridge is the Dallas Key Account holder for the Victory Wine Group. Before joining Victory Wine Group, Kyle worked for Total Wine & More, where he grew from a Wine Sales Associate to become a Wine Manager in under five years. In this episode… Many people experience detours in life. Kyle...
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Sales Rep Series | Miami, FL: Erin Jolley @ Progress Wine Group
Erin Jolley is the Florida Sales Representative for the Progress Wine Group, a company that's committed to thoughtfully servicing their customers, while building a family of inspired producers of wines and spirits-collaborating with both innovators and icons. They pursue sustainability for both…
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Sales Rep Series | Portland, OR: Bonnie Crocker @ PDX Wines
Bonnie Crocker is the Sales Representative of PDX Wine in Portland, Oregon. PDX Wine is a wine importing and distribution company based in the State of Oregon. They represent some of this country's top importers of fine, European wine, including Louis/Dressner, De Maison Selections, Kermit Lynch...
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Sales Rep Series | New Jersey: Eva Zorad @ Bonhomie Wine Imports
Eva Zorad is the New Jersey Sales Representative and National Sales Liaison of BonHomie Wine Imports, a company who is passionate about people and their stories. They work with wine makers with smaller estates of about 8-hectares who have generations of experience and knowledge in traditional…
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Sales Rep Series | Los Angeles: Marisa Brown @ Nomadic Distribution
Marisa Brown is the Los Angeles Sales Representative at Nomadic Distribution LLC, an import and distribution company that brings in bottles of alcoholic beverages from the coast of Morocco to the backcountry of San Diego, to the hills of France, and the heel of the boot. Marisa is also a…
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Sales Rep Series | San Francisco: Gretchen Pen @ Vintage 59
Gretchen Pen is a Sales and Marketing Representative from Vintage '59 Imports, a company who looks for wines with depth of fruit, length and elegance, rather than for obtrusive oak, over-extraction, or excessive alcohol. They focus on the rich relationships that spring from the community of...
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Sales Rep Series | New York City: Josie Zeiger @ MFW Wine Co
Josie Zeiger is the New York City Sales Representative for MFW Wine Co., a wine distribution company representing producers that strive to make real, terroir-driven wines. MFW Wine Co. operates out of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. In this episode… Selling wine requires...
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Sales Rep Series | Chicago: Kate Cornelius-Schecter @ Selection Massale
Kate Cornelius-Schecter is the Chicago Sales Representative for the Selection Massale, importers of natural wines from small wineries. After quitting her acting career to pursue her passion for wine, she started her wine sales career at Red & White Wines in Chicago. That passion intensified after...
About this show
The Alexi Cashen Podcast is the show where host Alexi Cashen talks with inspirational people in the wine, beer, and spirits space. Listen in as she talks with industry experts to get tips and information on a transforming industry.
Hosted by
Alexi Cashen