Intriguing Optimist

On Kelly Carter’s wall hangs an art piece that reads ‘She believed she could so she did.’ It’s her motto of sorts. “One of my sorority sisters always introduces me to others as the one person she knows who does everything she says she’s going to do,” says Carter, director of communications for Alpha Omega winery. Goal-oriented since youth, Carter decided at age 11 to become a sportswriter. Despite the discouragement of a USC journalism professor, she became the first female beat writer to cover the Lakers. When Carter decided to move to Europe, she ended up living in Positano and Florence for more than two years. When she decided to write a book, she moved to New York City and landed a contract to co-author a book with Venus Williams. Later, she was asked by National Geographic Books to write its first dog travel guide. More recently, while editor at Haute Living San Francisco, Carter opted to move to Napa to pursue a communications consulting business and was quickly recruited to Alpha Omega by owners Robin and Michelle Baggett. “I used to drive by Alpha Omega, envying the people on the terrace, wanting to be there myself,” said Carter. “It looked so fun! And now I do sit down with Wine Club members, media, friends, etc., and taste wine as part of my profession. People tell me I’m lucky to have lived in the places that I have and to have done what I’ve done. But it’s not luck. It’s creating a plan, visualizing and not just telling yourself that you can do it but believing it.”

Article By: Fran Miller