What’s Really in Your Wine? Regenerative Farming, Biodynamics & the Intelligence of Nature with Alice Anderson
Release Date: 01/07/2026
Why Plants Change How You Think and Feel with Spiritual Herbalist Tracy James
The Vitalist
What if your body already knows how to communicate with plants? In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera sits down with spiritual herbalist Tracy James to explore the living intelligence of plants, the five elements, and our innate ability to reconnect with nature as a source of healing, regulation, and wisdom. We dive into how the earth, water, fire, air, and ether elements shape the way plants communicate through the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. Tracy shares her journey into plant communication, her time learning from Shipibo shamans in Peru, and how practices like plant bathing,...
info_outline
What’s Really in Your Wine? Regenerative Farming, Biodynamics & the Intelligence of Nature with Alice Anderson
The Vitalist
What if wine could be more than a beverage? What if it was a living expression of soil health, intuition, and care? In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Keiko sits down with Alice Anderson, founder and winemaker of Amevive, to explore the intersection of regenerative agriculture, biodynamic farming, and embodied winemaking. Alice shares her journey from growing up around wine labels to falling in love with animals, farming, and the intelligence of land, eventually founding Amevive in 2019 with a commitment to growing and producing wine that feels as good in the body as it tastes. Together,...
info_outline
Why Symptoms Come Last: How Acupuncture Reveals the Body’s Innate Intelligence with Dr. Alan Chang
The Vitalist
In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera sits down with Dr. Alan Chang to discuss how acupuncture really works. Drawing from Chinese medicine, embryology, and decades of clinical experience, Dr. Alan shares how the body organizes itself long before symptoms appear. Together, they explore the meridian system as an energetic landscape, the five elements as living relationships within the body, and how modern metaphors like cellphones can help us understand invisible pathways of information and energy. This conversation also moves into the emotional terrain of healing, unpacking how stress and...
info_outline
Beyond Fight-or-Flight: A Full Nervous System Map for Modern Stress with Gabriel Kram
The Vitalist
Your nervous system is always working in the background, shaping your perceptions, your mood, your reactions, and even your chronic symptoms. Yet most of us were never taught how it actually works. In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera talks with author and autonomic expert Gabriel Kram about the real biology behind stress and human behavior. Together they break down why the nervous system, not just the brain, drives your moment-to-moment experience, and how its early wiring determines what feels safe, overwhelming, or threatening. They explore the map to your nervous system: Connection,...
info_outline
Cracked Open: How Yoga Reveals Who You Really Are with Jenn Chiarelli
The Vitalist
In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Keiko sits down with yoga and spiritual teacher Jenn Chiarelli to explore the quiet intelligence that lives in the body. Jenn shares her early years as a professional ballerina and the moment yoga cracked something open in her, shifting her from perfection to presence. She reflects on the practices that helped her reconnect to her essence: breathwork, subtle movement, mantra, meditation, and the lifelong inquiry that continues to guide her: Who am I? Together, Dr. Keiko and Jenn explore what it means to soften, to listen, and to trust the messages that...
info_outline
Prolapse, Pee Leaks & Core Weakness: The Truth About Your Pelvic Floor with Dr. Jocelyn Connolly
The Vitalist
This week on The Vitalist, I sat down with Dr. Jocelyn Connolly, Co-founder of The Vagina Doc to talk about the part of our body we’ve been taught to whisper about, ignore, and tighten. The pelvis is a place where we hold our stories, our stress, our pleasure, our fear… and our power. Dr. Jocelyn is bold, brilliant, and refreshingly honest about pelvic health and she’s on a mission to help women understand that their pelvic floor is not meant to be “tight.” It’s meant to be responsive, alive, and in relationship with your breath. In this conversation, she shares the moment...
info_outline
Inside the Intelligence of the Body: What Fascia and Embryology Reveal with Rev. Dr. Joanne Avison
The Vitalist
In this episode, Dr. Sera sits down with Rev. Doctor Joanne Avison, author, body worker and fascia whisperer, to explore the living architecture of the human body. They discuss what happens when we move from seeing the body as parts to understanding the body as as a continuous network that communicates through light, sound, and movement. Joanne shares how embryology reveals the intelligence guiding our development, and why fascia is the substrate of our becoming. Together, they dive into the hidden continuity between the heart and tongue, what it really means to “speak from the...
info_outline
Ayurveda Made Simple: Discover Your Dosha and Unlock the Science of Life with Dr. Meghana Thanki
The Vitalist
In this episode of The Vitalist Podcast, Dr. Keiko sits down with Dr. Meghana Thanki, an Ayurvedic and naturopathic doctor, to explore the deep intelligence of Ayurveda, the original science of life. Together they unpack what it truly means to live in alignment with nature’s rhythms and the body’s innate wisdom. Dr. Thanki shares how she was called to Ayurveda while studying naturopathic medicine, and how the sister sciences of yoga and Ayurveda form a complete lifestyle system for healing. You’ll learn about ojas (vital life force), the three doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha), and how...
info_outline
Beyond 20/20 Vision: How Your Eyes Can Rewire Your Brain with Dr. Dana Dean
The Vitalist
We’ve been using our eyes all wrong. In this eye-opening conversation, Functional Optometrist Dr. Dana Dean reveals why seeing clearly has nothing to do with 20/20 vision and everything to do with how our brain and eyes communicate to create vision. After struggling through school and repeatedly failing her board exams, Dr. Dana discovered that what she was seeing wasn’t translating to her brain. Once she retrained her vision, everything changed. Now, after 25 years in behavioral and developmental optometry, she’s helping others do the same. We explore how vision is learned, and 75% of...
info_outline
How to Think Differently: Dr. Jeff Karp on ADHD, Curiosity, and the Science of Learning
The Vitalist
In this inspiring conversation, Dr. Jeff Karp, Harvard Medical School professor, MIT scientist, and bioinspired innovator shares the story behind his revolutionary approach to learning, creativity, and curiosity. From being told in second grade that he’d “never make it,” to leading a world-renowned biomedical lab, Jeff reveals how metacognition, thinking about how we think, became the foundation for his success. We explore how ADHD and neurodiversity can be superpowers, why true learning engages all the senses, and how curiosity can literally rewire the brain to foster connection and...
info_outlineWhat if wine could be more than a beverage? What if it was a living expression of soil health, intuition, and care?
In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Keiko sits down with Alice Anderson, founder and winemaker of Amevive, to explore the intersection of regenerative agriculture, biodynamic farming, and embodied winemaking.
Alice shares her journey from growing up around wine labels to falling in love with animals, farming, and the intelligence of land, eventually founding Amevive in 2019 with a commitment to growing and producing wine that feels as good in the body as it tastes. Together, they unpack what biodynamic and regenerative farming actually mean, how celestial rhythms influence wine, and why small-scale, intuitive practices matter more than ever.
This conversation dives into the unseen side of wine production: from additives and undisclosed processing aids to the sensory, tactile decisions that shape fermentation. Alice explains why many people feel better drinking additive-free wines, how she senses when a wine is ready, and why some of her most beautiful wines were born from accident.
At its heart, this episode is about trust: trusting nature, trusting timing, and remembering that vitality comes from systems designed to work together. Whether you love wine, care about your nerve system, or feel called to more intentional ways of living and consuming, this episode invites you to slow down and taste what’s possible.
Connect with Alice & Amevive
Website: https://amevivewine.com/
Find locally: Ask your local wine shop for Amevive
Instagram: @amevive.wine
HIGHLIGHTS:
From horses and animals to Cal Poly: how studying general agriculture led Alice into viticulture and winemaking through hands-on curiosity. (1:43)
Why Alice founded Amevive in 2019 and how it has grown into 21 acres of vineyards rooted in regenerative practices. (3:29)
Living on the land you farm: how Alice experiences work–life balance when your home, vineyard, animals, and creativity are all one ecosystem. (4:29)
What biodynamic wine really means and how the sun, moon, and stars influence the rhythms of farming and fermentation. (5:40)
The role of biodynamic composts: how herbs are used intentionally to amplify soil vitality and microbial intelligence. (6:34)
Regenerative agriculture explained as a closed-loop system where soil, plants, animals, microbes, and humans work in mutual relationship. (7:18)
When and why American farming shifted away from regenerative systems toward monocrops, subsidies, and industrial agriculture. (8:37)
Why intuitive farming matters: learning to observe, listen, and respond rather than impose rigid prescriptions on the land. (10:40)
How to choose wine that’s grown with integrity; what to ask for at your local wine shop to avoid greenwashing and monocropped vineyards. (12:34)
Can you taste the difference between biodynamic/regenerative wine and conventional wine? Alice explains why it’s more about energy than flavor. (15:14)
Why many people get headaches or stomach aches from wine and why additive-free wines like Amevive feel radically different in the body. (17:00)
A side-by-side look at small-scale, hands-on winemaking versus corporate wine production from harvest to bottle. (19:24)
What is Velcorin, why large wineries use it, and why it’s both toxic and legally undisclosed on U.S. wine labels. (22:48)
How Alice knows when wine is ready; reading temperature, texture, tannins, and sensation through each phase of fermentation. (25:19)
The most important decision in red winemaking: when to press and how Alice waits for tannins to soften into sweetness. (27:27)
The art of restraint in farming and winemaking: learning when to intervene and when to trust nature’s timing and resilience. (28:48)
How one “mistake” in 2021 led to Alice’s favorite Marsanne to date and reshaped her approach to letting wine evolve naturally. (29:26)
Why winemaker-owned wineries often produce the most profound wines, free from external pressure, timelines, and marketing demands. (30:55)
A lesson passed down from another natural winemaker: “If it tastes bad, just wait.” Why patience is a creative force. (32:15)
The true intention behind Alice’s wine: not perfection, but joy, aliveness, and genuine pleasure. (33:17)
Trusted regenerative wine producers to look for when Amevive is sold out: Scar of the Sea, Lady of the Sunshine, and Tablas Creek. (34:27)
The future of regenerative farming and why Alice believes soil health is the foundation of human and planetary vitality. (35:08)
Where to connect with Alice, experience the wines, and learn directly from the land. (37:53)
Connect with Alice & Amevive
Website: https://amevivewine.com/
Find locally: Ask your local wine shop for Amevive
Instagram: @amevive.wine
Scar of the Sea: https://www.scaroftheseawines.com/
Lady of the Sunshine: https://www.ladyofthesunshinewines.com/
Tablas Creek: https://tablascreek.com/
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to get notified about what's coming next.
Follow us https://www.instagram.com/thevitalistpodcast/
https://thevitalistpodcast.com/
Visit us https://www.instagram.com/kinfolkoptimalliving/#
https://www.kinfolkoptimalliving.com/