Meet the Austin-Based Sisters Disrupting Wine Culture With Fun and Accessible European Wines
Learn about the new local wine company, Vinat, that has an inclusive women-focused approach
At a recent wine tasting with Vinat, a new label of imported wines founded by sisters Emily and Sarah Mack, Emily broke open a bag of corn puffs. Thumbing her nose at artificial gentility, she passed it around. She unsealed one small tub of fish pâté and a tray of Spanish cheese too, but those chips hinted at what she meant by calling American wine culture “a little intimidating.” The rarefied atmosphere around wine, she seemed to say, had to go.
As the young wine seller introduced three bottles—an Italian Prosecco and a white and red blend from Slovenia, each available exclusively online—she made her pitch: “Women who drink wine eat more than caviar and Wagyu beef.”
She argued that women importers like Vinat naturally disrupt the boys’ club controlling the options available to women—who, according to a 2023 Gallup poll, were three times more likely than men to say they preferred wine—at dinner, bars, or the grocery store.
These edible talking points were easy to digest.
Vinat’s fun approach to wine pairings
“We like to call it the most fun type of user research,” said Emily, a former UX Consultant for Deloitte Digital. In her hands, she said, wines submit to the same research as any product she’s developed for a Fortune 500. In short, wines run the gauntlet. Alongside blind taste tests and debates on how well the fermented grapes pair with more luxurious food, fast foods are respected.
“Obviously we’ll try with different cheeses and meats because that’s such a go-to,” said Emily. But she would never skip the “pizza, macaroni and cheese … Any snacks we’re feeling that day, like chicken nuggets, we’ll grab them. We do usually incorporate McDonald’s. We like fast food so we’ll pair it with Taco Bell.”
For the techie-turned-wine pro, these snacks aren’t just a tasty hit of fat and carbs. They also represent dinners of last resort. As a woman in corporate finance, Sarah Mack agreed. Her studies for a graduate degree in Spain led the sisters into their latest business venture, but both love fast food, she told us. On the other hand, the artificially-imposed uniformity of reliable junk food is something Emily’s learned to dislike in wine.
Fewer additives and zero waste
European Union requirements mandate that additives used in winemaking be indicated on labels. Emily argued that fewer additives were used as well. Fewer additives would mean, at least theoretically, products that reflect harvests, conditions, and yearly changes.
“Now knowing everything that I know and the more I’ve gotten into the wine industry I really appreciate the variances … because to me, that shows that it’s real and it’s natural,” said Emily. “And variances are natural. It’s something I’ve come to embrace in all aspects of my life, not just wine because there’s so much that’s artificial these days so when you know something is real and you taste it as real, that’s kind of beautiful.”
Anecdotally, she mentioned her mother’s reaction to additive-heavy wines. Not all domestic wines are additive-heavy, but Emily and Sarah picked a few imports for their mother to try, and found that they made her wine-induced migraines disappear. Mom Mack is also credited with inspiring the sisters to come up with creative ways to use leftover wines. Red wine brownies, white wine sugar cookies, and even a sparkling wine hair rinse, suggested across the Vinat website blogs, are easy ways to make sure that not a drop goes to waste. With imported bottles often arriving in lightweight glass that slashes emissions, such bottles arrive with even more to recommend them.
Vinat sisters challenge male-dominated wine imports
Growing up tasting wine with family, Sarah and Emily credit their German heritage for their European-style approach to wine. They never planned to work in the industry, but while visiting Spain, they were alert to new opportunities.
With a pandemic luxury face mask business in the rearview, they were able to focus on a clear issue with importers. Not only did importers skew male, but they also chose wines based on pretty labels. For Emily, a label-to-quality correlation ran in the opposite direction. The Macks had seen enough.
If women do prefer wine labels, as Forbes reported based on an interview with Dr. Christina Chi at Washington State University’s School of Hospitality Business Management, Vinat’s founders have it covered. Their playful and feminine tags sport woozy, wavy lettering and images of beach umbrellas, frilly dresses, and pretty Vespas, designed by a Venezuelan artist friend of the Macks. However, Vinat’s founders hope consumers will also pay attention to the juice inside the bottle.
Unconventional pairings and international wines to win over wine lovers
As relatively untested importers, the Macks say they’ve been lucky to work with vintners from both Italy and Slovenia, the latter quickly gaining recognition for its exceptional wines. The red blend, called Cha Cha Cha, and the white blend, called Out of Office, both hail from the Central European country. The Skinny Dip Prosecco is Italian.
Whether in Europe or Austin, where Emily says she splits her time, she and her sister Sarah are betting on wine lovers to validate their hunch: that selecting for taste and a wide pairing range will put them on top. Further evidence of their curation includes lists of TV shows, films, and books to enjoy with every bottle, as well as playlists available on the Vinat website. For the sisters behind Vinat, unconventional pairings can be as highbrow or as unembellished as you wish.
