Cheers with Nat

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

Today's guest is Luma Monteiro aka @WineriaOfficial on Instagram and Head of Marketing at Davy's Wine Merchants.

We start by discussing the many hats Luma wears, how she first got into wine, and how she got to where she is now – by building both her wine knowledge and her business expertise.

Luma then tells us what motivates her, the message she hopes her journey shares with others, the new hobby she's obsessed with outside of work, and lots more.

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What stuck with me from this conversation:

On her focus: "I'm very organised and I do think I have to be because I do so many things at the same time. And I'm very focused. I'm like, 'This is where we are going, don't divert from the plan. This is where we are going to go.'"

On what motivates her: "You want to feel included. You want to feel represented. You know. I'm Brazilian, I'm Latina, I'm not white. You know what I mean. So, you do need these things to push you in places that normally it's not easy… I think that motivated me even more than the knowledge. Because I'm like, what now? We have to change the game… and sometimes it has to be you. Who else is going to do it?"

On her impact in the industry: "I do think the importance of being influential is what do you do with it, what is the message you are sending to people. For me, my motive forever will be 'everyone can do it'. It doesn't matter where you came from, it doesn't matter where you are. And that is what motivates me to move on and do my things and be focused."

On why she loves working in drinks: "I do love a challenge, you know."

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Links & things:

Luma's Instagram: @WineriaOfficial

What we're drinking: Joseph Grau El Pas de l'Estudiant

Luma's day job: Davy's of London

Luma's studies:

• WSET Level 3 & Diploma in Wines
• Champagne Academy
• Master of Wine
  • Gerard Basset Foundation Scholarships
  • Brazil's only MW (currently!), Dirceu Vianna Junior MW

Competitions Luma judges at:

• Decanter
• Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

Where she switches off: Yoga Space London

Book reccs:

• The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil
• Salt by Mark Kurlansky

TV recc: Narcos

Celeb to share a drink with: Beyonce with a glass of SirDavis (not Sir John as we say in the episode, oops!)

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Recording info:

February 2026 in London

Apologies for the few occasions where the audio quality dips a bit. I think it may have been an issue with my mic connection that I didn't catch at the time. This conversation is really worth a listen though, so please do bear with!

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Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

Today's guest is Nicola Hart, founder of Agua de Madre.

Nicola starts by telling us all about Agua de Madre's signature product – water kefir – including what it is, where she first discovered it, and what led her to start making it herself.

From there, we discuss how the business has evolved over the years, why Nicola traded a career in film-making for one in fermentation (and the unexpected parallels between the two), what keeps her grounded outside of work, and lots more.

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• On functional drinks: "Everybody's understanding now, people are drinking less or rather they're just wanting to add value to their water. I mean, in the past, I would only ever drink water. I didn't 'get' fizzy drinks – until now."

• On film-making vs building a drinks brand: "All those skills you get – from organisation, making things happen, you've got a budget. In fact, I'd say that probably working in the drinks world is much tougher. Because in film production, you might have a 10-week production time when it's 24/7, but then you have the downtime before that when you're working with the script and raising the money, and then you have the downtime after when you're editing. Getting a drink to market is absolutely non-stop. It's intense."

• On learning new skills and building a team: "It's about age and experience and listening and knowing that you don't know everything. That kind of helps… But also trusting your gut, as well. Trust your gut is pretty much one of our lines. 'Get a good gut feeling' is what it's about. And more and more that comes back."

• On advice for other founders: "Just start. Just do the first step. Obviously, you learn on the way… Actually it's just starting and having passion, commitment, and knowing that it's going to be a long haul – it's not going to be a sprint – and to stick with it."

• On what keeps her in the drinks industry: "Well, its compelling, isn't it? It's compelling to see the business grow. Especially now it seems to be. I'm enjoying the adventure. I'm enjoying the ride and, boy, what a ride."

• Agua de Madre

  • Product range

    • We were tasting the blood orange water kefir

  • Home Madre film competition (scroll down)

• Early inspiration & stockists

  • Doug McMaster's Silo (now closed)

  • Sam & Sam Clark's Moro

• Nicola's latest film project

  • Firebrand (2023)

  • Based on the book Firebrand by Elizabeth Fremantle

• Local restaurants getting some love

  • Jolene (makers of my fave cinnamon roll in London!)

  • Primeur

  • Westerns Laundry

• The Fermenters Guild

• Madres on the dance floor with Sophie Ellis Bextor

• Nicola's podcast reccs:

  • Hungry (getting its second shout out on the show!)

  • People Doing Things with Ed Little

  • BBC's The Food Programme – 'The Science of Fermentation' episode

• Nicola's book reccs:

  • Tim Spector's Ferment

    • Check out Tim & Nicola's Instagram Live here

  • The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz

  • Which Wine When by Claire Strickett & Bert Blaize

  • Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

• January 2026 in London

• Apologies for the typing noises at certain points, Nicola's colleague Yasmin was diligently taking notes during our recording!

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Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

In today's episode, you'll hear from beer historian, Dr. Christina Wade.

We start by discussing how she turned her childhood dream of being a "castle person" into a career as a historian, and how the history of beer – and women in beer more specifically – became her focus.

Christina then shares how her award-winning books came to life, the beer history myth she's determined to bust, and what she's working on next. We also learn why she believes it's so important to share her work outside of academia and how she rewired her writing style for a broader audience.

Lastly, you'll hear about some of the new hobbies that keep her grounded outside of work, given that her hobby eventually became her work.

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What stuck with me from this conversation:

• On her childhood dream: "My family saved up lots and lots of money to be able to take me to Ireland after that because I just fell in love with medieval history. And I went to Bunratty Castle and, I think I must have been 10, and I looked at my mother and I said 'I want to be a castle person', you know I want to study this, this is what I want to do. And I want to do it here."

• On citing sources as a historian: "It was really important to me to make sure that I had sources that other people could read. I'm not just saying this and you can trust me. You shouldn't trust me. You shouldn't trust anybody unless they can provide their sources and you should look at those sources, if you're so inclined."

• On how her first book came about: "I really want to read this book, so I'm going to write this book, because I want to read it."

• On writing for different audiences: "You're gatekeeping to some degree. You're choosing what information to include and what not. And your audience is trusting you with that and that's a lot of power. So you want to make sure that you're writing something that's worthy of that, that they can engage with, that's still having the academic rigour that you would write for an academic audience but then in a way that speaks to them. So I write how I speak, so I write like I'm talking to my friends in the pub over a pint. And if I can't say it out loud and have people understand it, then it needs to be re-written."

• On the importance of listening in her work: "… it's also being able to gauge what your audience wants by not only speaking to your audience, but listening. I think that's a really important part. So it's not only writing the media, its also consuming the media. And listening to people's voices and seeing what are they interested in." Check out the episode to hear how this influenced the focus of The Devil's in the Draught Lines!

Links & things:

• What we're drinking

  • A nice little write up on both beers from The Beer Nut

  • Collaborator Liam K's website, IrishBeerHistory

  • The brewers, Trouble Brewing

• Christina's work

  • Braciatrix blog

  • The Devil's in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain's Beer History (CAMRA, 2024)

    • Winner of The British Guild of Beer Writers Best Book in 2024

  • Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland (Nine Bean Rows, 2025)

    • Winner of The British Guild of Beer Writers Best Book in 2025

    • Shortlisted for The André Simon Award 2025, selected from over 140 submissions

  • Beer Ladies Podcast

  • Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland

• Recognition for Christina's work

  • In addition to the awards for her books, mentioned above, Christina was also named Beer Expert of the Year in the 2025 inaugural Women in Beer Awards

• People who inspired Christina's future work

  • Teresa McCullah

  • Liz Garibay

  • And the rest of the Beer Culture Center team

• Christina's book reccs – a shout out to fellow Irish beer writers!

  • The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History by Donal Fallon

  • A Compendium of Irish Pints by Ali Dunworth

• What she's watching

  • His & Hers

  • Stranger Things

• January 2026 in Dublin

• Sorry for some of the background noises, we had the window open in my hotel room 😅

Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

In today's episode, you're going to hear from Natalie Chiu, co-founder of Saicho Sparkling Tea.

We explore how Natalie's lifelong love of food and her fascination with science led her to train as a flavourist… and how an unexpected twist during her and her husband's PhD programmes set them on the path to creating Saicho.

In addition to learning all about the business and the many roles Natalie plays within it, you'll also get a mini tea masterclass, hear the long list of podcasts that keep Natalie grounded outside of work, discover what she enjoys most about being part of the drinks industry, and a whole lot more.

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What stuck with me from this conversation:

• On wearing her many hats in the business: "It's such a joy, because every touch point is just so different. And it's nice to be able to see everything from conception of the product, to production, and then to release. And then seeing people come back and tell us they enjoy it, it's such a humbling experience."
• On Saicho's impact: "Creating Saicho is actually allowing people to have those moments. Because it's looking at something to appreciate it… Often we're so fast – in terms of eating, consuming, moving around – there's so much going on. And, actually, creating that and being part of that experience of slowing people down is just amazing."
• On starting the business: "Neither of us are business backgrounds. We're both scientists and we were just figuring things out. So we learned along the way."
• On how the market has changed: "Whenever we go out to see consumers and we'll do tastings, we used to get a really confused faces about sparkling tea. Now, it's people are actively seeking out sparkling tea. It is such a difference just over the couple of years we've been around."
• On advice for her younger self: "Something that I definitely think is important to get through and start a business is to make sure you have grit and perseverance through those challenges. I think, for me, not giving up is probably one of the most important things… And then finding your people. Whether or not you're looking at hiring your first person and continuing to hire people. Finding people that fit when you're looking for advisors or investors. It's important to find those people that fit with you. And I think trusting your gut is often the best thing."

Links & things:

• Saicho Sparkling Tea
  • We were tasting the Osmathus, which was a seasonal, but is now part of the core range
  • Try them all here
  • Check out 'The Art of Pairing'
• University of Nottingham
  • Food science research
• Natalie's podcast reccs:
  • Acquired
  • Hungry
  • Dish
  • Science vs
  • The Check up
• And one TV recc for good measure
  • Emily in Paris (I wholeheartedly agree with this one! 😄)

Recording info:

• December 2025 in London

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Welcome back to Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

Before we get started with Episode 2, I wanted to share an exciting update about last week's guest, Georgia Kelly.

In true Cheers with Nat fashion, Georgia has also just moved beyond beer! Last week, on the very day her episode was released, she started a new role as a sales rep for Disaronno. Please do take a moment to pop onto LinkedIn and congratulate her, as that's what this show is all about – cheering on women in drinks. What a start!

And we've got another incredible guest up next.

In today's episode, you're going to hear from Karina Aggarwal, better known on Instagram as GiggleWater411.

Considering one of the things Karina loves most about her work is that no two days look alike, we start by digging into her job as a brand strategist and consultant and what it actually entails. We then go all the way back, discussing her childhood interest in Egyptology (and the surprising parallel with her work today), how she created her current role, the hobbies that keep her grounded outside of work, and more.

Just before we get into the episode, I wanted to share a little content warning that we also talk about Karina's recent battle with cancer, which she's been very open about on her social media. If you have a loved one living with cancer, like I do, I know these conversations can be tough to hear, but Karina's story is a really inspiring one. She lets us in on why she chose to share her battle so publicly, the positive impact she's had on others by doing so, and the life lessons she's learned from this experience.

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What stuck with me from this conversation:

• On imposter syndrome: "For me one of the things that has always helped is to know that I've done as much as I could from a preparation point of view… The confidence then comes to say, if there's something that I don't know, it's really ok for me to say, 'Oh wait, that's an interesting question. Let me try to find out about that. I'm not sure.' It doesn't diminish everything else that I know."
• On her role as a brand strategist: "It may eventually be about selling the product, but you want to establish what the brand is, you want to know who the right audience is to speak to, and how do you speak to the audience."
• On social media: "The idea is not to say this is the best whiskey or the best beer, it's always to say this for this reason is why I like to drink it or why it's on my bar."
• On her journey with cancer:
  • Why she shared it publicly: "I just realised that I wanted people to hear from me. Like, I wanted them to know where I was at at that point in my head. That it wasn't a sob story. Yes it was a huge thing and I was sort of getting used to it. But that I was ok."
  • The impact on others: "The other thing that became really important through the journey is that, again, when I first put it out there, I encouraged women to go and get tested. I said it's not something that we are told and I don't know why that is… and a lot of women write to me and said, 'We went. We took our best friends, we took our sisters, we took our mothers. We had been putting it off for a while.' But it was almost like, if it happened to you, it can happen to us."
  • The impact on herself: "I've never been a patient person. I wouldn't say I am one now. But it did teach me a little bit to, you know, pick my battles a little better. Slow things down a little bit. Not need to be everywhere all at once."
• On scuba diving: "I struggle with getting my mind to shut down… but being in the ocean and diving and just looking at stuff and thinking about how the symbiosis is between these things and how it functions, that really calms me. It stops my mind from wondering."

Links & things:

• Indian indigenous spirits
  • Six Brothers Mahura
  • More on mahura and feni
• Karina's favourite comeptitions to judge
  • Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
  • Brussels Beer Challenge
• The legend that is RBG
• Book reccs – The Broken Earth Triology

Recording info:

• November 2025 in Bangalore, India
• Apologies for the background noise, we were recording in a meeting room in our hotel in India (we were both in Bangalore for the Brews & Spirits Expo) and we had a bit of company on a few occasions!

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Welcome to the first episode of Cheers with Nat – the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks.

My first guest, Georgia Kelly, is the person that gave me the push I needed to bring this show (back) to life, after a chat at an event way back in January 2025. (Yes, it took me that long to get myself and this project in motion!)

Georgia was working for Lucky Saint at the time and said she'd listened to my Beer with Nat episode with Lucky Saint's MD Emma Heal as part of her interview prep. (She also said she'd fall asleep to the pod, which I'm still not sure if that's a complement or not! lol)

She really wanted to see the podcast make a comeback – which I'd been toying with, but I'd been wanting to broaden the scope of the show – and she gave the straight-talking advice I needed to get make it happen. More in the episode!

A Key Account Manager at DEYA Brewing Company (at the time of our recording), our focus is on Georgia's career story. From her start as a pot-wash, to working behind the bar, and now to life on the other side of it as a sales rep. We also get into much more, including what she wanted to be when she was little and the thread that runs through all of her roles – her love of people and their stories.

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Editor's note:

As of March 2026, Georgia has just started a new sales role elsewhere in the drinks world... listen in to Ep 2 for an update!

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What stuck with me from this conversation:

• On job searching: 'I didn't know even the words to search for for the job. I kept searching rep, and if you search rep it's not going to come up, because often the words are brand ambassador or account manager'
• On the Women in Beer mentorship programme: 'I think the main takeaway would be feeling like I have a place in the industry'
• On how to treat people: 'Making someone else smile makes your day a lot better, too'
• On confidence: 'You realise you can sort of practice being confident by complimenting somebody randomly'
• Georgia's advice in a nutshell: Ask questions, pay attention to the people around you that inspire you (and tell them that they inspire you), and practice your confidence

Links & things:

• Chouffe – traditional & cherry
• DEYA Brewing Company – beers & taproom in Cheltenham
• Lucky Saint - beers & pub in London
  • Shout outs to Emma & Kerttu on the team for being super inspiring
• Georgia's favourite author Jeannette Winterson and book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
• The Women in Beer mentorship programme & annual awards
• On mental health & hospitality – Mental Health First Aid England & Burnt Chef
• Podcast & book reccs
  • The Lock In podcast 'Stop! In the name of pubs' episode
  • Tart by Slutty Chef

Recording info:

• November 2025 at Market Coffee House in London
  • Thank you for hosting us!
• I hope the background noise from this lovely venue adds a bit of atmosphere and isn't too distracting
• And apologies for the phone buzzes – I'll make sure all future guests don't have their phones on the table!

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Welcome to Cheers with Nat – a podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks!

This new show was inspired by my previous podcast Beer with Nat, but instead of just speaking to women in the world of beer about what they do and why they love it, I'm now speaking to women across the world of drinks – both alcoholic and not – about their careers.

Listen in to learn why I'm launching Cheers with Nat, what to expect from each episode, who I'll be chatting with, and how I'm making it happen (around a day job as a beer educator).

Then be sure to hit follow, so you don't miss the first episode on Wednesday, March 4th.

You can also subscribe to the Cheers with Nat newsletter via Substack or follow me on Instagram at @cheers_with_nat.

I'm super passionate about this new show and I'm super excited to hear what you all think. Thanks so much for listening. Cheers!

For this final episode of the 'Beer with Nat' podcast, we're going full circle… all the way back to Episode #001.

Today's guest is Jaega Wise, Head Brewer at Wild Card Brewery and my very first guest when the show kicked off in November 2018.

We start by checking in with Jaega on what she's been up to since then, including seeing the brewery through the pandemic, launching their new barrel program, hosting a TV series and publishing a book. (Yep, she's been busy!)

Then, as a thank you to Jaega for helping me get the show off the ground all those years go… she gets to turn the tables and interview me!

We chat all about my career, what I was up to before beer, what I enjoy most about being part of the beer industry and plenty more.

We have a lot of laughs, too. I hope you enjoy listening in.

Here's Jaega…

Today's guest is Helen Anne Smith (they/them), Founder of Burum Collective.

We start by discussing what Burum Collective is all about, what inspired Helen to set it up during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020, the resources they offer currently and what their goals are for the future.

Then we get into what keeps Helen busy alongside Burum, including part-time roles as a bartender and in sales and marketing for Wilderness Brewery and Welsh Mountain Cider.

Finally, Helen lets us in on what they were up to before beer, how they got their start in the beer industry, and, of course, what they enjoy most about being a part of it.

Here's Helen…

Today's guest is Maia Kazas, European Events Manager at global hop company Barth-Haas.

To start, Maia tells us what Barth-Haas does, what her role as events manager entails and how her work was impacted by the pandemic, given that most of the activities she'd normally be organizing were put on hold the past two years.

Maia then shares what she was up to before beer and how she made her transition into the beer industry – more specifically, into working with hops. You'll get to hear all about her experience working on a hop farm in New Zealand and what it was like for her to move from the US to the UK for her job… without ever visiting first!

We also discuss one of Maia's other passions: mead. And lastly, Maia lets us in on what she enjoys most about being a part of the beer industry.

Here's Maia…