Experts

Sarah is the CEO and co-founder of Vinat. She has 8+ years of corporate experience. She started her career as a business analyst at a boutique consulting firm in New York City. Then, she spent seven years in Corporate finance roles at Fortune 500 companies spanning pricing strategy, supporting large capital-intensive projects, preparing board and investor relations materials, and spearheading cost reductions during the pandemic. Outside her corporate day job, pre-COVID, Sarah ran a successful travel blog with over 50K Instagram followers and has traveled to 50+ countries. During the pandemic, Sarah started a luxury woman's accessory business, Fofas, with a friend and her sister. Sarah holds an MBA from IESE Business School and a Bachelor's in Finance and Supply Chain Management from Lehigh University. She's also a certified Spanish Wine Scholar from Wine Scholar Guild and is working on her Italian Wine Scholar certification. Sarah lived in Barcelona for two years and splits her time between Austin and Europe. 

Laura Barrett joined Clif Family Winery as Winemaker in November of 2014, bringing her passion for wine and her life-long love of science to the Clif Family Winery portfolio. Laura received her undergraduate degree from The University of Vermont where she received a BS in Chemistry. Looking to put her degree to use for more than just lab work, she decided to pursue a career in winemaking. Her first step along this path was a job with Stony Ridge Vineyards, a small wine producer located on Waikeke Island in New Zealand. After deciding that winemaking was the career she wanted to follow, Laura returned to the United States and pursued a Masters in Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis where she was quickly recognized as an up and coming winemaker. While studying at UC Davis she received the prestigious La Reve Foundation scholarship, awarded to female Viticulture and Enology students with outstanding academic standing. After graduating from UC Davis, Laura became Assistant Winemaker at Fisher Vineyards where she worked for five years under the direction of celebrated consulting winemaker Mia Klein. In this role she learned to appreciate and understand the nuances of Napa Valley Cabernet. Aspiring to move into a head winemaker position, Laura took a position with Casey Flat Ranch and spent the next seven years developing the wine program for this Capay Valley producer. As Winemaker, Laura brings her keen scientific knowledge, attention to detail and creative inspiration to the Clif Family Winery portfolio. Laura developed the final blends for Clif Family Winery’s 2014 vintage wines and with the 2015 vintage assumes responsibility for the entire winemaking process.Laura lives in St. Helena and in her free time enjoys hiking around the Napa Valley and spending time with her children.  

Emily has 7+ years of experience in user research, innovation, and startups. She started her role in design by working with startups across healthcare, non-profit, and consumer goods sectors before spending several years leading transformative projects at Deloitte. After Deloitte, Emily worked for a cybersecurity startup, driving experience and creative strategy on projects spanning product-led growth, new product acquisition, and new product creation. During the pandemic, Emily started a luxury woman's accessory business, Fofas, with a friend and her sister. Emily's passion for wine was sparked through her part-time job as a bartender throughout her college years. She attended Miami University in Oxford, OH, where she graduated from Farmer School of Business with a B.S. in Marketing. Emily holds certifications in UX Design from Designation and IBM, Data Ethics, AI, and Responsible Innovation from the University of Edinburgh, and two Intellectual Property Law certifications from the University of Pennsylvania. Emily has spent time internationally for work in Dublin (Ireland), Barcelona (Spain), and Lisbon (Portugal). She currently splits her time between Austin, TX and Europe.

As a Latina, I grew up gathering with family and friends, toasting to life’s great moments. Whether it’s birthdays, holidays, weddings, or you name it, there was always a reason for bringing our community together and for celebrating. That is why I started Saludi in Denver, CO - to bring our community together and support each other with products that are way too pretty not to be used. We took a new approach and created products that inspire through colorful beauty (and make drinking more fun). Our work is showing that there’s more than the black and white of life, but a gorgeous spectrum of colorful and beautiful moments.  Cheers l Salud l Saúde to stylish and unforgettable celebrations!  Dani and the Saludi team 💕 

To date, I’ve been published with Conde Nast Middle East, Tasting Table, EuroCave, Travel Curator, Vogue Arabia, Fast Company, Destinations of the World, Forbes Middle East, Curiosity Magazine, Elite Daily, The Forward Feed, Food&Wine, A Luxury Travel Blog, Matador Network, Sopexa, JustLuxe, Travelettes, Citizen Femme, Columbus Travel, Dining and Nightlife Middle East, and Roads & Kingdoms. I provide global hotel coverage with Northstar Media and was part of The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels program on BBC5 in 2019. Most recently, I’ve appeared on EuroNews, DXB Today, and as the host of the first season of UAE byFood. I’ve written commercially for Couqley, AddMind Hospitality, Dima Ayad Consulting, Spinneys, Sapaad, and Umami Communications. I also regularly contribute to Dubai Eye 103.8 for food and travel.I’ve spoken at a number of conferences, including hosting the Top Table at Gulfood 2024 and being both a panelist and moderator at The Restaurant Show, Middle East Food Forum, Travel Tech Middle East, Caterer Middle East, PechaKucha, and SMS Summit Jordan. I attended the Google Local Guides Summit in October 2018 and November 2019, as well as The World’s 50 Best Restaurants international and MENA events and San Sebastian Gastronomika. Unilever invited me to attend the Future Trends report in March 2023 and hosted the Middle East activation in June 2023. I served as a judge for the Specialty Food Festival YouthX 2023 panel and the Deliveroo Awards 2023. I’ve worked with Marriott More Cravings, 1800 Tequila, Louis XIII, Wonderful Pistachios, Grana Padano, California Wines, Carnistore, Jacob’s Creek, Silver Fern Farms, and Dubai Tourism. I was recently recognized by Raemona magazine in their 2024 ‘40 over FORTY’ list, and in March 2024, I was tapped as a Luxury Lifestyle Awards Food & Beverages Advisory Board member.