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Founder and winemaker. Rae came to winemaking from the floor, as a sommelier, and started Wine For The People in 2010. She added Dandy Rosé in 2014, Dandy Bubbles in 2017, and the La Valentía wines in 2019. She still makes every bottle.

Rae came to Austin from St. Louis in 2005, earned her sommelier certification in 2008, and spent the next two years working harvests in Napa Valley and Portugal. Wine For The People began as a wine education and consulting business built on a simple idea: you don’t need a secret language to enjoy wine. Dandy Rosé, her first wine, became the definitive Texas rosé for a generation of Austin drinkers. She ran tasting rooms near Dripping Springs, in Austin’s Rosedale neighborhood and in Fredericksburg before the label joined William Chris Wine Company in 2023. She sources 100% Texas grapes from growers across the state. Her wines have been recognized at the Fort Worth Vine 2 Wine Competition and covered by Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, Wine Enthusiast, Forbes, Eater and Vogue.

“People often feel overwhelmed or intimidated by wine. Making wine more accessible in any setting is really important to me. We can talk about the details of origin, history and climate, but enjoying wine can also be as simple as: do you like it? Great.”