The Mama Making Podcast

Maria Castellucci Moore | The Art of Building Legacy, Business and Family

• Jessica Lamb, Maria Castellucci Moore • Season 3 • Episode 110

Share episode

In this episode of The Mama Making Podcast, host Jessica Lamb chats with entrepreneur, author, and mom Maria Castellucci Moore about building a life rooted in creativity, intention, and legacy. From launching a wine label that pairs wine with music to writing children’s books that nurture mindfulness, Maria shares how storytelling shapes every corner of her work.

They explore the intersection of entrepreneurship and motherhood, the influence of Italian heritage in family life, and the ongoing process of personal growth. Whether you're building a business, raising a family, or dreaming up your next chapter, this episode offers inspiration to lead with purpose.

You can connect with Maria:

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a digital marketing company supporting makers, creatives, and small business owners with all things digital and design.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
Share and subscribe to the podcast: click this link
Want to be a guest?: message in here!

Jessica Lamb (00:57)
Hello everyone and welcome to the Mama Making Podcast. If you're new here, I'm your host Jessica. If you're not new, then welcome back. Maria Castellucci Moore is joining us today and I am so excited. Maria is an entrepreneur, an author, wine proprietor and a mom whose trailblazing mission is to help others experience life in full harmony and success.

Quite a bio. Thanks for coming. I'm so happy to have you.

Maria Castellucci Moore (01:22)
Quite an intro. Thank you, Jessica. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Jessica Lamb (01:26)
Yeah, so tell us a little bit more about you, who you are, where you're from, whatever you're comfortable sharing.

Maria Castellucci Moore (01:31)
Yeah, so I am first generation American, born to Italian parents and from San Francisco and I currently live just a bit north of San Francisco in wine country. So in St. Helena, if anyone knows Napa Valley. Mother to four children, youngest is almost four and the oldest just turned 14. So I'm in every plane of development, I think on the children front.

and I run a luxury boutique wine label. I love to write children's books. I help my family in, we have a real estate development company, so I help with that, and a philanthropist. So, wear many hats, as they say.

Jessica Lamb (02:14)
Yeah, you're on the full spectrum of motherhood and then also on business and entrepreneur front as well.

Maria Castellucci Moore (02:21)
Yes, yes. it's never a dull moment around here. That's for sure. So I think balance is just a hilarious hack that all of us, entrepreneurial women and mothers are always striving for that balance. But, you know, here or there we take, we take the chaos with the, you know, with the structure and we do the best we can, but it's a lot of fun.

Jessica Lamb (02:24)
Yeah, it sounds like it.

Yeah. So tell me, Do you want to kind of go through where you got started with entrepreneurship?

Maria Castellucci Moore (02:50)
well, to answer that, I mean, that comes from a super young age. So my parents are from Italy, came to this country over 50 years ago and immediately immersed themselves in American language and culture and, you know, striving to get to the top. And I think through language and just the really strong work ethic, it was ingrained and instilled in me from a very young age. So.

I also think entrepreneurship is something that you're kind of just, I see it in one of my children already. was like, okay, she's definitely not going to work for somebody else. She's the one with a million ideas. She's the visionary. She's super idea for it like me and coming up with new ideas and new, you know, so I just think you're kind of born like that or you're not. It's really tough to mold a child.

to have these extraordinary visions and kind of that business sense from a young age. So from my perspective, it's kind of like you either have it or you don't. It's definitely not for everybody. I also see the flip side where it's like, my gosh, it would be nice to like turn off the emails at five o'clock and you just get a paycheck and you don't have to worry about, you know, paying people and insurance and there's a lot of...

A lot of to do's with owning your own businesses. So, believe benefits to both sides. Yeah.

Jessica Lamb (04:19)
Yeah, I was just going to say there's pros and cons to

each side. And I'm sure like as your life kind of ebbs and flows, you maybe have a preference towards one or the other. But I would love to hear more about how you first started, like what was your first entrepreneurial thing and then how it's kind of evolved to where you're at now.

Maria Castellucci Moore (04:28)
Yes.

Well, fun question. I'll go back in time. I started my own little mini company when I was 15. I big tennis player and my dream was to play in the pros. So I started my own little teaching business at our house and I taught all the neighborhood kids and it was called 15 Love. Like the scoring, like the young, the low scoring in tennis.

And so that was my first, like my father helped me make my own business cards and I had all the neighborhood kids that would come over for group lessons. And so that was kind of my first like, like you can think of a great idea. You can implement that idea. can market it, you know, share it. And with positive feedback, you get people in front of you and you kind of, the momentum starts from there. So that was my fun little, you know,

Job if you want to call it my little creative idea when I was super young I have to say in my adulthood I would say my first kind of go was in 2016 my siblings and I started a wine label but now I just kind of run on my own so kind of fizzled into just me and That's been amazing. So

We're real estate family, so we already had the land and the fruit. So I was like, we can't just sell this fruit. We have to do something with it. Let's create something. So there's always a creative artistic side to, I think, coming up with ideas and then also having a team of support behind you. You're never a one-man band, truly. I mean, I think you're always kind of.

backed by friends or family that can guide you along the way. So the wine industry was my first kind of business where we turned a hobby into something a little more than a hobby. So that was my first go. you know, it's a wild ride. You're learning literally like in the vineyards, you're learning all different facets of business. So that's been really fun and really interesting and developing that concept over time.

We are in it now about just about nine years. So.

Jessica Lamb (06:52)
And how long did it take you to kind of hone in and figure out exactly what you were going to do, what it was all going to look like, and how did you navigate those sibling relationships while kind of developing this brand?

Maria Castellucci Moore (07:02)
Yeah,

that's a great question. I mean, we're a very Italian family, so we all actually work for our family. So yeah, I can get a little claustrophobic at times, I won't lie. But the beauty is we all have very defined roles. And I think that having that definition and kind of those guidelines is what makes it successful.

And we all really like each other. So that helps. That helps a lot. yeah, I think just, you know, bringing, bringing something that you have created, whether it's in a group setting or on your own and kind of navigating that it's a forever changing. So especially in the wine industry, you're kind of, you are always three years ahead. So it's a little tricky. You have to, you know,

when you harvest, if you're talking red wines, you're harvesting and from grape to bottle, takes almost three years. So you're kind of forward thinking, which has been an adjustment for me. It's an interesting way to business plan. You have to think about a market that you actually don't know yet. What kind of economy is it gonna be? Who's gonna, but we've managed to, we're boutique enough where we have our own.

parameters and a wonderful concept, which I can elaborate on if you'd like. And yeah, so we have our own clients that kind of, you know, and following and so we're not too worried on what happens in the market per se, but I would think if you're a much bigger brand, then yeah, you do have to kind of curtail your business planning for your.

Jessica Lamb (08:38)
Yeah, yeah, I'd love to know more

about it more about what makes it different and how you guys have kind of made it work for your family.

Maria Castellucci Moore (08:43)
EW!

Yes, so we have a beautiful concept. We pair our wines with music. So we're a very musical family. I play classical piano, so do two of my four children. My father is very musical, my mother. So we naturally felt that pairing wine with music and creating like a sensorial experience to wine tasting was something new, fresh, and different.

You know, normally you go wine tasting and they put like some lovely food in front of you and you're kind of, it's still a great experience. but it's kind of uniform. You get that at a lot of different places, at least up here in the Valley. So we actually have a musical director who's curated, songs for each of our new releases. And I've named each wine after an Italian musical concept or theory. So.

It's really fun. I'm currently updating our website, so I'll have all that for your listeners to check out pretty soon.

Jessica Lamb (09:45)
Yeah, that is really

cool. Like you said, I live here in Illinois and like a wine tasting is a wine tasting. There's nothing too, too different about them, but this sounds like a really cool concept.

Maria Castellucci Moore (09:50)
Okay. Yeah. Great.

Yeah, it's kind of like, you ever tasted wine with your ears? Have you ever used like your full body to experience wine and you know, wine is just an accessory. It's like an art form. you know, it's how you perceive the art form. So in our case, it's wine, the same concept actually translates into my children's books that I can chat with you about if you'd like. And

So with the wines, it's really fun because you're actually using your whole body to experience something and it truly heightens not only the product, but it's storytelling, right? So like one of our white wines is actually barrel aged. It's a French style white. And so there is a lot of layering to this product. And so, you know, what story are you trying to tell? Where does it come from?

you know, we have a wonderful winemaker who's from France and we're Italian. So it's like this European marriage of lovely loveliness. But yeah, it's just something fun and different. And I think you have to think a little bit outside the box, you know, and it's more about being unique to you. think just whenever you're selling something, you're selling authenticity. Really, I think connecting with your consumers is about

being true to yourself. And that's in so many different areas of life and just self care. But I think when you're talking business, it's like, what sets you apart? And it's really you. That's actually what sets you apart. There's nobody like you. So if you can bring out your expression in your product, people really like that. They resonate with that. So that's what we're trying to do. Yeah.

Jessica Lamb (11:37)
Yeah, I love that. Yeah,

think you're totally on the mark that authenticity is key to being able to show what you're interested in and what you're trying to put out into the world. People can definitely sense it if you're not. And so I think that that's a really unique marriage that you've put together of music and wine, but also...

Maria Castellucci Moore (11:51)
Right.

Jessica Lamb (12:00)
storytelling, like that's immediately what I was thinking as you were kind of sharing that like there's a storytelling element to it about you and your family and kind of bringing it into your brand is really interesting.

Maria Castellucci Moore (12:05)
Yeah.

Yeah. And I think, you know, I mean, it translates into so many other things. I learned this later in life. So actually that's where my children's book comes in. It's like, I went on this self-discovery journey and I was like, my gosh, you have your why you have your reason, right? When you're putting something out in the world, whether it's your words or something you've made with your hands, it's like, why are you doing it? Right. So

with the wines, you know, I mean, a stone's throw where I live and you come across amazing wine. I mean, we live in the wine country and so it's like, what sets you apart? And it's actually yourself. That's what sets you apart. So if you have a good story to tell and you can kind of compile all the pieces, I think that's where success lies.

Jessica Lamb (13:02)
Yeah, I think that's like so perfectly wrapped up in terms of entrepreneurship and, and really making it authentic to you. And like, that's how you sell your thing, whatever it is. You briefly touched on your self journey. Do you want to talk a little bit more about that? What that has looked like for you and your journey through it, and then how you've kind of come out of it

Maria Castellucci Moore (13:18)
Yes.

So I experienced some challenge. I'll make it general. I experienced, you know, a big challenge in my life that kind of turned my whole family upside down. And coming out of that and all this work on myself that I did to get to where I am.

I really discover that happiness is totally not a one size fits all. it's, I think also having been raised kind of in another culture, but in this culture, you kind of can compare the two. And, you know, we live in a very kind of materialistic, capitalistic society, and there's nothing wrong with that if there's balance to it. But.

you know, instead of like the shiny new car or, you know, the latest pair of jeans, I was like, it's not really doing it for me. So I kind of dug and after several years of learning what that was for me, it was like turning inward as opposed to reaching outward for joy. And I think happiness and joy are two different things, but I could talk about that for hours. So

Just turning inward and really I coined this acronym for the word you, which means like I look at it as your own unfolding. Like we are all layers, like an onion, right? And over the years, change is inevitable, right? The constant is change. And so we're all evolving and changing. And the way I kind of grew through this challenge was discovering

who I was, what my contribution is, and paying attention to myself and kind of using my five senses to experience the world around me in a totally different way. So like we all walk out our door and we see like the same view every day or the same, right? But if you can kind of shift your perspective and have fresh eyes on what you see every day, the things that you see

change. Like they physiologically change in you. And so I thought, okay, I have like figured something out. And you know, here I was like 40 years old. I'm like, I figured something out. How do I kind of dumb it down to an audience that it's a big overarching, know, the happiness has been researched by, you know, the Dalai Lama to, you know, every psychologist on the planet.

There's been so much research done on it, but how can I send that message to a young person who can maybe start this process much earlier in their life? And then by the time they get to college or even right after college, they have a stronger sense of self. And I think it was that conversation between the parent or the caregiver and the child that I wanted to really instill. And that's what, that was my why for my children's books.

And I don't know for being recorded right now, but I have like a couple of copies to show you. So one is Vivienne in Paris. And that's my first one. And the second one is Sophia in Rome. And so these books are named after. So each book in my series, I've coined it the traveling mindfulness series. So I learned and got certified in different modalities of mindfulness, meditation, many different.

Jessica Lamb (16:32)
Yeah. Aww.

Maria Castellucci Moore (16:55)
things and so I've, thought, I could create a series. I have enough kids that I can create a series. Each one's named after a child set in a city that I've either lived in or had a very momentous experience in. And then it's about this child who journeys through that particular city, because I love to travel. they just, know, using their five senses, they kind of discover.

the city in a new way and like how their body, heart, body, soul kind of experiences the city. And then at the end, each child gets to, you know, whatever their tada moment is, what's, what makes them tick is kind of the end of the book. So each child is so different. So it's given me a wonderful homework assignment on really honing in on like, what does my child love? You know,

So it's been a really fun experience for me and using my five, you know, using the five senses through my books. And so we kind of, I translated that also into the wines. So we're kind of big in the sensorial department over here, but it's really, it's changed my life. And I really hope that, you know, young readers will find kind of that sense of self.

and looking inward as opposed to looking outward to find what's important to them.

Jessica Lamb (18:18)
Yeah, I love that. I love the sensory focus of things and that I do think I agree. think it makes your experience a lot richer to be able to take in more than what you're seeing or hearing. And I love that you've been able to kind of boil it down to a kid's version that I'm sure adults can benefit from as well.

Maria Castellucci Moore (18:27)
Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

They sure can. They absolutely can because, know, we're all born with these God given gifts. so it's like, yeah, adults and children alike. It's it's it works. So.

Jessica Lamb (18:50)
Yeah. So

tell me a little bit about the process of writing the books. How does that kind of interweave with the all the other things you have going on?

Maria Castellucci Moore (19:01)
Yeah, the book writing, you know, for now, it's like a hobby that I just love and wish I could spend more time on it, to be honest. I think when you feel inspired, you kind of, you know, for me, I feel inspired. I run to the computer. I mean, I'll wake up at two in the morning with phrases and, you know, chapters that I'm like, yes. So I don't have a ritual. A lot of people ask.

What's your writing ritual? I don't have one. It's like, I'm inspired every day, whether it's through the different work that I do, through my kids, through design, like I love interior design. I'm always like moving things around or arranging flowers in different places and then I'll come up with. So it's more, it's more when I feel inspired that the pieces kind of come together. So.

Jessica Lamb (19:52)
Yeah, I kinda love that.

Maria Castellucci Moore (19:53)
I wish

I had a better answer. I wish I had like, I wake up at four in the morning and like I write for two hours. I don't, but I definitely carve out pieces of my day and it's kind of like piecemeal and then I can put it all together. So that's my random way of making it work.

Jessica Lamb (20:09)
Yeah, yeah,

I I think your answer is the perfect answer. I mean, we've been talking this whole time about authenticity, and I think that that is so true for many people who create that it is those like 2 a.m. wide awake thoughts that are coming in that are like, have to write this down or I have to do this, that all kind of culminate into one big product at the end. So I.

Maria Castellucci Moore (20:34)
Yeah, I mean,

yeah, I also think like, I read a lot. So I probably read more than I write. I write a lot too, but I read a lot. And I think reading not only enriches your vocabulary and kind of expands your mind, but you also think about what you're reading and then you're like, ooh, I could connect that to, you so it's this creative process that...

for me, doesn't have like a linear path. It's very random, but it works for me. So.

Jessica Lamb (21:06)
Yeah, yeah, and it sounds

like, like you're writing winds up being very grounded because you're just taking in everything from your everyday and using it to create these amazing stories. I imagine that.

Maria Castellucci Moore (21:17)
Yeah,

blog post, if any of your listeners like following along and I have a good blog post that kind of has some fun tidbits in there that might make this more palatable. I am big into wellness. So there's a lot of components that kind of overflow from one business to another.

Jessica Lamb (21:23)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. So with all of this happening, you're also a mom to four. What? Yeah. Yeah. I figured we'd get all the business stuff out of the way. Yeah. So being a mom to four, as well as managing all these really amazing, very thoughtful, intentional projects alongside motherhood, what has that looked like for you?

Maria Castellucci Moore (21:45)
Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes, that comes first, right? mean, long...

Yeah.

I mean, I actually try to involve my kids. So it's like, I'll have these new kind of mindfulness playing cards, or I have this, you know, I have like certain things that I want to try out before I blog about it. And so I get my kids involved, you know, or they're cooking with me, or I do have a pretty big age range. So that actually helps me because my older help with my little guy. So

Yeah, I don't know how we do it. I think my biggest struggle is how on earth do you get dinner on the table for six people when you're like, you you do like the school pickup and then you have to, you know, I used to think about dinner like an hour before everyone had to eat and I was like, oh my God, this is super stressful. I have one little, I have one daughter who's like the, you know, always has an apron on. So like, okay, Ava, we need to get.

We need to get the menu. You're going to help me shop. So it's like, try to involve the kids. it's less, it's kind of teaching them responsibility and showing them my work without kind of telling them about what I do. Cause they don't see me go to an office every day. Cause I work from home. Like I have an office in the house. And so they're kind of confused. Mommy, what do you, what do you do?

Like, well, mommy does a lot of different things. And so I think if you can involve your kids in some of your work, I mean, some work you definitely can't. It's just not kid-focused or kid appropriate. But as far as writing, even the wines, I bring them into the vineyard. When we're harvesting, they're there. So I think.

I think my biggest obstacle is the dinner on the table. I'm like, my gosh, if I could have a private chef, my life would be complete. Like the food management for four kids and the husband is like a fifth kid. That's like, that's hardest thing for me. have the Italian stay at home, like made everything from the garden mom. And I did not inherit those genes. So I like to make shift like.

Jessica Lamb (23:53)
seriously.

Yeah, I can't imagine. Yeah.

Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (24:15)
some of it's prepared, some of it's homemade, we kind of throw it together. I think just if you could sit down with your kids for dinner every night, that's just, it doesn't even matter what you're eating, honestly, just be healthy. But yeah, the food management is my most hilarious part of the day, I would say.

Jessica Lamb (24:23)
Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah,

I have only have a family of three, so I can't imagine trying to plan ahead, but having a little sous chef sounds amazing.

Maria Castellucci Moore (24:41)
Yeah,

yeah, because she's into it. So you're like, okay, and then you're also teaching her, you know, just the responsibility that goes along with how to manage, you know, a menu or shopping or, you know, just different things that you a chance to learn something.

Jessica Lamb (24:55)
Yeah, and

And I think it goes along with your big overarching goal of that lasting legacy, although it's maybe just making the grocery list for the week in practice. think in...

Maria Castellucci Moore (25:09)
Hahaha

Jessica Lamb (25:13)
It has to show that she's making an impact in her family.

Maria Castellucci Moore (25:19)
That's exactly we're creating the next generation of leaders. And so the way I view like the family is almost like your little mini company. So for all of you listening out there, even if you don't own your own business, whatever constitution is in your household, that is your business. Like it starts there. So get them involved, get them involved early. Even if you think they're not doing anything, they're absorbing everything they what

what they feel, like how they feel and what they see, they absorb more than you talking to them. you know, I strongly encourage just to create kind of that leadership mentality, let them take the reins. Like all our kids go to a Montessori school. It's like, all right, we're gonna do this Montessori style. So you guys get to create the menu. They pick what we're gonna eat. I just give them parameters.

Two things have to be grown from the earth. Otherwise we'd be having like Doritos every night. So, you know, kind of give them some parameters, but you know, freedom within limits is kind of the coined phrase at our school. And it really, it's amazing what comes out. I mean, even the four-year-old, know, he'll be four in May. He stands up on a step stool and like with a Montessori knife.

Jessica Lamb (26:24)
Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (26:37)
he's chopping cucumbers. So it's like, let them decorate a plate, for example, and get you just bring out five different cut up things that they can do. Little things like that. And yeah, I think if you, there's a dear friend of mine that says you're raising adults. You're actually, you're not raising kids, you're raising adults. So when you think of it in that perspective, you're like,

Jessica Lamb (26:39)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (27:02)
That's a big responsibility. So no matter what work you have going on, like if you can buckle down and treat your household as though it's your first company, I guarantee you your kids will benefit.

Jessica Lamb (27:14)
Yeah. Yeah. I love that mentality. We're also a big Montessori family as well. So, I mean, in Montessori, it's like hyper independence almost that it's like, yeah, but, but I think it's great to be able to kind of have those building blocks of independence young. I only have a two year old. We've been doing some Montessori type things here. He has yet to go. He'll go to Montessori in the fall, but,

Maria Castellucci Moore (27:18)
Yeah.

Yeah, too many choices sometimes.

Jessica Lamb (27:41)
the independence that he has just having these like little stations set up that are his, where he's responsible for putting, we're in Chicago, so putting his hat in his basket and his mittens. And then he has his little shoe rack where those are just his. So I think, yeah, yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (27:56)
yeah, creating order early. know,

I got a little piggy bank because I think it would inspire, because when we go to mass on Sundays, Theodore wants to put a quarter in the offertory basket. I was like, well, we have to earn the quarter. How are we going to do this? Are we going to make your bed? He just transitioned into this little bed. It's a hilarious thing. It's like the size of a crib, but doesn't have the rails. It's so small.

Jessica Lamb (28:19)
Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (28:20)
And so, you know, we're now teaching him like, okay, here's how we make our bed. And so the older kind of mentor the younger and that's, you know, those mixed ages in the Montessori classroom is amazing.

Jessica Lamb (28:32)
Yeah.

Yeah. It's so great to watch them like pull different things from kids that are other ages. Usually I feel like I've seen it mostly be the older kids learning from the young or the younger learning from the older. but to kind of see them and watch them figuring things out is what are my favorite things.

Maria Castellucci Moore (28:47)
I mean,

yes, it's also the repetition for the older. So they get to teach. So they have to explain, they have to verbalize things that they already know, which it sounds easy for adults. But you know, when my nine year old has to like explain things to a three year old, it reinforces what she knows. So it's like, it's learning without even, they don't even realize what they're

doing, right? But they're reinforcing all these things that they know. It's beautiful. Yeah, I want to wear a shirt that says, your kids to a monastery. It's a miracle. It's a miraculous.

Jessica Lamb (29:11)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah. And I think

in talking about like act like you're, you're raising a company, think, having your older's teaching your younger's kind of puts them in that leadership role. ⁓ and maybe, maybe they're built for it and maybe they're not, but figuring out how helping them.

Maria Castellucci Moore (29:35)
100.

Yes. Yeah.

Jessica Lamb (29:43)
confidently figure those

things out about themselves and then you can kind of steward them through their life as they go, has to be pretty cool to watch unfold.

Maria Castellucci Moore (29:50)
That's, it's

so cool. And you've nailed it. That's exactly what you're doing. So you're actually instilling a leadership role in a nine year old. And she's also my entrepreneurial child. like, yeah, like maybe it's easier for her, but my son Dean, mean, you know, maybe it's not as easy, but he does it and they actually share a room. So yeah, it's.

Jessica Lamb (30:04)
She's built for it.

That's awesome. Yeah.

I mean, they're going to have to go out in the world and whether they're entrepreneurial spirits or not, they're going to have to go out in the world and know how to interview and know how to interact with people and any position that they have. I think starting at home and kind of building those building blocks at home is amazing.

Maria Castellucci Moore (30:20)
What?

Well, one of the newer things we've done is each child gets to invite like one adult a month for dinner at the house. So I was around adults a lot when I was younger, my husband as well. And I think there's an etiquette and there's like a sense of hosting and how to be, you know, just how to be proper and stuff. So

letting them decide, okay, who's it going to be? Maybe it's a teacher, maybe it's a neighbor. And so they get to decide the menu, they get to send an invitation, then they set the table. So there's a whole host of learning that comes from this idea of allowing them to be around adults more, because I think that there's a big benefit to younger children being accustomed to, you know, to older adults.

Jessica Lamb (31:17)
Yeah, for

sure. Yeah. I think, I mean, my son is an only child right now. I think you can definitely see how he interacts with adults versus children right now. But it is very interesting to see that there's like a different sense of responsibility, knowing that almost like accountability, that I have this adult who is joining me and my family and I'm sure it's exciting for them.

Maria Castellucci Moore (31:18)
Yeah.

Yes.

yeah, it's like letting them answer the door and shake their hand and say, know, good evening or hi, welcome, come on in. You know, like even if they're two, how are we going to welcome Mrs. So-and-so or whatever. So it's like getting them kind of ready for that respect. I was raised that way. So it's different because, you know, I feel like I'm born in another, on another planet sometimes. But yeah.

Jessica Lamb (31:53)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. How I,

I would love to know, cause you were saying that you kind of grew up in two different worlds. I would love to know, this is a great example, but I would love to know more about how you kind of integrate your Italian American upbringing with your own children.

Maria Castellucci Moore (32:27)
Yeah, that's a great question. So the first thing we're doing is like everyone gets a plot of land in the backyard and it could literally be like two pots. You know, it doesn't have to be a big field or anything. And just planting something that they love. So either it's strawberries or whatever it is. And we live in a climate that we can do that, you know, starting pretty much now.

So that's one way. It's very similar to the way I was raised. Everything was cultivated out of the garden. I literally never saw my mother open. I don't think she's ever eaten a cheeseburger to this day. Never tried a hot dog, that I know for sure. She doesn't understand that food. She's like, she looks amazing and she's 77.

Jessica Lamb (33:09)
I imagine she's better for it. Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (33:15)
Yes, I would say the gardening aspect and we live in an environment. I my kids go to school on a 20 acre farm where the goats just had their baby kids and they watch the birth. And I mean, it's very, it's very organic and kind of surreal. They're learning experience up here. So I feel very lucky because it kind of feels like we're in Tuscany or something, you know, like we're in a vineyard, then they go to school on a farm and they don't realize how fortunate they are. But it's

Jessica Lamb (33:41)
One day,

they'll know.

Maria Castellucci Moore (33:42)
One day, one day I hope they'll look back and be like, wow, that was a very cool upbringing. So yeah, so I would just say like, get your kids outside, get them in nature as much as you can. It's like the best playground for them. know, Montessori doesn't have like plastic toys and things. And so they are outside a lot at school. I mean, we definitely have plastic toys because we're gifted all kinds of things under the sun. like,

Jessica Lamb (33:47)
Yeah.

Maria Castellucci Moore (34:07)
We have a mix of everything and it's all good. I mean, we're not like crazy about it, but let them play outside. Let them be in nature. I think that's a huge part of how I was raised. Try to grow a little bit of your own food if you can. Even if it's not that plentiful, just for the children to know that carrots don't come from a supermarket is amazing. I would say...

The musical aspect is probably a big part of how I was raised and so two of the four are learning piano right now and I danced ballet for many many years and so my girls also dance and love it. Funny that they don't love ballet. It's like hip-hop and jazz which is fine. So yeah I would just say like going back to your roots. I don't know like

maybe for some people it's not a good memory. And so you can always reinvent that, you know, like even if you don't have kids, you can totally reinvent yourself. I mean, every day is a new opportunity to kind of be like, what do I want to invite into my life and what will serve me? And you really can only answer those questions when you've done the work. So I think with my roots, like we're kind of, we're doing it. I mean,

I wish I spoke more Italian to them. That's probably my, you know, the one downfall is I don't do enough of that. But other than that, they have a lot of good wholesome activities

Jessica Lamb (35:38)
think it's the perfect segue to ask you what creating a lasting legacy, what does it look like for you?

Maria Castellucci Moore (35:48)
It's a tough question. That's a great question. I would say, know, honoring who came before you, but also putting your own spin on it. know, I mean, it's like, for example, in the wines, you know, my parents' family, they were born in the same hometown. So...

they made a barrel of wine in the basement. That was just what they did. I mean, that was just what they drank. You know what mean? It wasn't for sale or it was just for them. And so then when my father came to this country and started doing that here, it was like, okay, now I've taken it on, but I put my own spin on it now. Like now we have this sensorial journey. I'm even working with a flower essence therapist and we're designing our own perfume that goes with

the wines. So it's like, it's so cool. So it's like, you kind of have to know yourself in order to answer that question authentically. But I would say carry forth either to your children or to yourself, to your friendships, the things that you remember from your past, from your childhood, the positive things, and put your own spin on it. Because I think that's that.

Jessica Lamb (36:36)
That is very cool.

Maria Castellucci Moore (37:02)
then that's the legacy that you leave your kids, if you have kids, you know, they're like, okay, my grandfather did this. My grandfather was from Italy and did this. My mother was born in America, but she made it like this. And then they can maybe take it, who knows? You know what mean? Like who knows what story they're gonna tell? So I think legacy is so cool because each generation brings kind of their own

their own like multi-color, know, like brings their own spectrum to whatever that is. And so for us, it's winemaking, but also the arts. I mean, I don't know if my children are gonna do anything with music or dance, but you know, it's like I danced ballet and now they're doing jazz and hip hop and it's all good, you know, like it's all positive. So.

I would just say authentically, kind of your own unfolding of yourself is the best way to transfer that legacy.

Jessica Lamb (38:03)
Yeah, I love that. That's perfect way to put it. Do you want to chat a little bit about your upcoming book?

Maria Castellucci Moore (38:09)
Yes, my upcoming book is called You Yoga. It's outside of my series. And it's honestly what I'm so excited for this book because it is all about you, why you your own unfolding. And it's through yoga, because I love and obsessed with yoga. And

what you find in yourself on or off your mat. This is a children's book, but I actually think it's so delightful for adults as well. And it basically talks about you're the masterpiece. Like everything you want, need, or, know, everything is already within you. And yoga is what brought that out in me. But even if you're not, you know, have no affection towards yoga, the book is

really whimsical and enchanting my illustrator. I picked a totally different illustrator for this book because I wanted just a different vibe. I wanted to totally do it because it's a standalone. So it's not part of the series and doesn't really need to have that same look and feel transferred throughout. So she's from New Zealand and she is just like so breathtakingly amazing at depicting these kind of natural raw

scenery. it's just, I'm super excited. There's a, there's a little taste of it on my website. So check that out for sure. Please. Yeah.

Jessica Lamb (39:35)
Yeah, we'll put that in the show notes for people to check out.

where can people find you? Social media, website, email, whatever you want to share.

Maria Castellucci Moore (39:44)
My website is mariacastellucymoreauthor.com. My Instagram, oh gosh, what is it? I think it's mariamoreauthor and Facebook is the same. And yeah, check me out. It's so fun. We've lots of updates. I'm on there at least three days a week with new content and stuff. So, good luck.

Jessica Lamb (40:09)
Awesome. And

where can people find your wine company?

Maria Castellucci Moore (40:13)
Yes, so it's linked through my website. So mariacathlejmoreauthor.com and there's a tab for wine and you can read all about what we're doing and where we are and we look forward to seeing you.

Jessica Lamb (40:25)
That's awesome. Well, thank

you so much for being on. This was super fun to kind of get a little taste of everything you've got your hands in and learn more about where the books stem from and about your family. So I so appreciate you spending your time with me.

Maria Castellucci Moore (40:39)
Thank

you, Jessica. It's been an honor. Appreciate you having me.

Jessica Lamb (40:43)
Thank

you.