Drinks with Lisa

Nadia and Francis O'Connell are the owners of award-winning Firescreek Botanical Winery located in the NSW Central Coast. With respective careers in marketing and engineering, they took their tree change to the extreme by also taking on the challenge of learning the art of winemaking. Today they practise regenerative organic farming and offer a wide array of unique botanical wines.  

With over 45 medals for these wines, the taste and seasonal variations are sure to delight any creative foodie looking for a new experience. The winery produces 25 different fruit wines on the property at any one time.  

Firescreek Winery set on 2.5 acres of lush grounds featuring rainforest skirting the property on the permanent creek, water Lilly ponds, numerous fruit trees and vines. It has the rustic feel of a Tuscan vineyard, combined with the lushness of temperate rainforest make a stunning and picturesque backdrop to weddings, photoshoots and picnics.  

My guest is Gina Di Brita, Founder of Numero Uno Coffee Roasters.  In 2003 Gina established Numero Uno in Sydney, and a few years later commenced roasting her own beans. Now roasting specialty coffee for Australia, her career within the Australian specialty coffee Industry spans over 16 years travelling to several different origins, visiting and importing coffees from Colombia, Nicaragua and Honduras. She’s committed to social, environmental and economic sustainability at the origin. 

She is now a multi-award winning 2019 Australian Coffee Woman of the Year and President of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Australia Chapter. She has also served as a World Barista Judge for the WBC in Australia at both State and National Competitions. 

My guest is Priyanka Baruah, Founder of Cocoa Oven.  With a degree in Architecture and a very successful career as an Interior Designer, Priyanka quit her job and decided to follow her passion for baking and chocolate. She takes us through her career change journey of launching her own flourishing home bakery business.