Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexa Ferra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

In all of my projects, I’ve always embraced approachability, diversity, and inclusivity.

With Alexa’s Wine Diary, it started out more than five years ago as a way to remember which wines I had already sampled. It quickly evolved into a delicious pastime—and formal blog—that enriched my own wine knowledge while giving other wine amateurs a relatable perspective on wine tasting. My blog has always been a no judgement zone for learning and showcased a variety of regions, producers, and more.

My most recent project is “Pouring Over Pages,” a podcast of words and wine. Just launched in August 2021, the podcast is hosted by myself and my best friend/book aficionado Maritza Lacayo. We get lit on literature while diving into pop culture, wine, and current events. We try to choose books that highlight minority groups, women, and speak to current issues in society. We want to discuss the stories that are not normally told. And then I pair the books with wine, which is an interesting concept in and of itself. I look to different regions, winemakers, themes, and more for inspiration. It’s a platform to inform and entertain but also create a safe place for conversation.

With both platforms, I hope to give back by leaving the door open for others to pursue their passions.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I am Alexa Ferra—an arts marketer by day and wine blogger/podcaster by night. I started my journey into the wine world by documenting the different wines I tasted on my personal Instagram account. Soon enough, friends and family were asking me for my opinion and recommendations, so that’s when the blog was finally started five years ago. Since then, I’ve taken formal wine education and gotten my WSET level 2 certification with merit.

Then, last summer, my best friend and I discussed the possibility of doing a project together. We wanted to make an impact in this crazy world. After some serious thought and a bottle of wine, we decided to put together a podcast. That’s how “Pouring Over Pages” podcast was born. We pair books and wine as a catalyst for conversation around current events.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Alexa’s Wine Diary has always been a solo endeavor so it was refreshing to work on a project with someone else. On “Pouring Over Pages” podcast, I have a co-host—Maritza Lacayo—that helps me with the content and the work.

Maritza and I met several years ago at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), our place of employment. I’m the director of marketing and communications and she’s a fabulous curator. We clicked right away and our relationship only grew stronger over time. Fun fact—we go to the same Crossfit gym and wear matching outfits about five times a week. For the one day we finally compete in a competition, our fictitious Crossfit team name is “Match and Snatch.”

When we started the podcast, our talents naturally found a way to complement each other. My marketing skills came across though building the brand and marketing the episodes while Maritza’s academic background helped to pick the right books and outline interesting conversations.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think there are many lessons we need to unlearn from society as a whole and we talk about that heavily in the podcast. This capitalistic lens of which we value our worth is bullshit so we walked into this project with that in mind. We created the podcast as an outlet to express ourselves and tackle conversations worth having to make a difference. We didn’t go into this to make money or gain notoriety—we just wanted to create a place for conversation and enlightenment and I think we’ve succeeded. We’ve gotten an outpour of messages from our listeners thanking us for tackling tough topics or bringing a unique perspective to light. THAT is what makes the whole project worth it. Do what you are passionate about and the rest will follow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexaswinediary.com/ and https://www.flowcode.com/page/pouringoverpagespodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexaswinediary/ and https://www.instagram.com/pouringoverpagespodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexaswinediary and https://www.facebook.com/pouringoverpagespodcast
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexaferra/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexaswinediary
• Other: https://rss.com/podcasts/pouring-over-pages/