Last year, sometime around April, we set out to film something we had been thinking about for a while; a small series called Her Way. It was meant to be a continuation of a podcast we had started the year before with the incredibly talented Kelsey Glasser, owner of Arden in Portland and host of the series.
The idea was simple.
What if we went out and spoke to women across this industry; wine, hospitality, the people who shape these worlds — and simply listened?
We started in our tiny little studio in Portland, Oregon. And little by little, we watched the conversations grow. The importance of them grew. The audience grew. So we raised a little bit of money here and there, just enough to take the idea outside of the studio and into the places where these stories live.
Last April, we began filming.
We started in Napa, then continued through Sonoma, and into the Gorge in Oregon — speaking with women whose work, leadership, and instincts shape the culture of wine and hospitality in ways that often go unseen.
Now, nearly a year later, as we arrive at Women’s History Month, it felt like the right moment to begin sharing some of these conversations.
We’re not quite ready to release the full episodes we filmed. Those are still coming. But the conversations themselves felt too important to keep waiting. These are discussions about leadership, about presence, about the ways women approach craft — whether that’s in how they grow grapes, make wine, build businesses, or guide teams.
Each story is different.
But together they form something larger.
Stories told by women, about women, for the rest of us to hear.
Before you listen to the conversation below, I strongly encourage you to read the beautiful essay Kelsey wrote to accompany this episode, “Before Napa Was Napa.” It traces the valley’s origins — from Mexican territory, to the Gold Rush, through phylloxera and Prohibition, and into the moment Robert Mondavi helped place Napa on the world stage. More importantly, it sets the stage for the conversation you’re about to hear with Carissa Mondavi, grounding it in the long arc of the valley and the people who have cared for it across generations. It’s thoughtful, deeply researched, and a reminder that wine is never just about what’s in the glass — it’s about land, history, and the people who carry those stories forward.
So it’s with great honor that we begin sharing Her Way with you.
The first conversation features a member of one of Napa Valley’s most storied families; Carissa Mondavi of Continuum Estate — speaking with Kelsey about legacy, reinvention, and what it means to care for a place that has shaped both a family and an entire region.
Below you’ll find the podcast version of that conversation.
If it resonates with you, we hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Beginning in May, we plan to release the full filmed episodes little by little — and your support helps make that possible.
This is the another great piece of work we’re sharing from TODOS Media as we continue expanding into this world of storytelling.
Support women.
Support women winemakers.
Support women in this industry.
Here’s to Her Way, to Kelsey Glasser, and to the many conversations still to come.
