Jen Pelka’s Une Femme Brings Sparkle and Strength

Vacation is when life feels most joyful — relaxed, fun, and full of unforgettable moments. Now, blissful poolside memories can be elevated with Une Femme, the sparkling wine brand that’s as chic as it is meaningful.

Courtesy Stacy Allen

 

“Dream big and lift women up” is the driving mission behind Une Femme, created by sibling co-founders Jen and Zach Pelka. Jen’s experience founding The Riddler, the all-women-funded champagne bars in San Francisco and New York, revealed a powerful insight: woman-made wines consistently outsold others. That inspired Une Femme — a brand that rewrote the rule book.

Now, this modern, fresh brand is available at most Marriott Vacation Club^®, Sheraton^® Vacation Club, and Westin^® Vacation Club pool bars in the United States, making it easier than ever to toast to vacations. 

We recently spoke with Jen to learn more about the inspiring femme behind the brand. 

Courtesy Stacy Allen

She shared with us everything from her all-time favorite travel and hospitality experience to Une Femme’s driving mission, charitable causes, and future aspirations for this effervescent woman-powered brand. And we found out how the partnership began:

Vacation Life: You’ve built a brand that celebrates bold, trailblazing women. If Une Femme were a travel destination, where would she take us and why?

Jen Pelka: Well, there would definitely be a pool. We’d be sitting somewhere out in the sun, drinking wine, ideally a beautiful spot in Sonoma in Northern California, which is where I live. There would be elements of having fun with your girlfriends by the pool, but then there would also be a gorgeous culinary garden where we could eat fresh fruit and vegetables right off the vine. It’d be a place where there would be opportunities for people to connect and have fun together. 

VL: Sounds amazing. Sign me up! What’s the most inspiring trip you’ve ever taken that has influenced your approach to business, branding, or your personal life?

JP: I’ve been fortunate to get to travel to a lot of beautiful, inspiring, and amazing places. My husband and I love to travel, so we’re often abroad. One of my favorite hospitality experiences I’ve ever had was staying at a place in Puglia, in southern Italy. We stayed at this beautiful hotel that was impeccably designed and incredibly welcoming. The hotel had everything you needed on the property, including a beautiful organic garden. They had cooking classes, a gorgeous pool, and their kitchen set up — which I will never forget — featuring a beautiful outdoor pizza oven pushed back into the basin of the building. It really inspired the design of our home. That feeling of “easy, breezy, welcoming hospitality,” but very elevated. We aspire for people to feel like this when they come to our house, so it’s had a real impact on our lives.

VL: Incredible. The name, Une Femme, is stylish, modern, and it really embodies the feminine essence behind the brand. What was the inspiration behind the name and the brand?

JP: We started the brand five years ago and launched all our wines in partnership with women winemakers, always giving back to charities that benefit women. The name Une Femme came about because all it takes is one woman to shatter another glass ceiling. And so, the idea that any woman, anywhere, can figure out what she wants to be the first at: the first in her family; the first in her community; the first in her neighborhood. I think there’s tremendous power in picking the thing that you want to be the first, the best, or the only at — and then going for it big time. For us, that’s Une Femme.

VL: Following on from that idea of empowering and celebrating women, who is your “Une Femme”? 

JP: That one’s easy. My mom. She’s an incredibly powerful, amazing woman who’s been a true guiding light to me throughout my life. She’s so supportive of both my brother and me. … Our mom set such an incredible example to both of us that it’s irrelevant what your gender is: you can dream incredibly big and go after whatever you want. 

VL: Une Femme and Marriott Vacation Club both have core values in giving back. Why was it important to you to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Dress for Success?

JP: For us, giving back is at the core of what we do. It was a part of the brand from the very start. Our connection with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation first came about through our partnership with Delta Air Lines. We began working with them in October of 2021, when they featured our rosé on board all their planes during the month of October. … We love working with Dress for Success, too, because it’s an organization that gives back to women who are going through a period of their life where they are ready to get back into the workforce and they’ve maybe gone through some really challenging personal times. It’s an organization that really empowers women to take control of their lives and to own their destiny. 

VL: How do you want people to feel when they open a bottle or can of Une Femme? And how do you design the experience to make that happen?

JP: We say our tagline is: “pairs well with fun.” Our hope is that when people crack open a can or a bottle, they’re able to create a little moment of fun and joy for themselves. Sometimes with friends or family, or someone they’re dating, or, in some moments, it could just be for themselves. Sparkling wine is a category that people really associate with fun and celebration. The moments when people naturally choose to drink Une Femme might be when they’re on vacation, or they’re sitting by the pool, or they’re out on a hike. We are so happy and thrilled to partner with [Marriott, Sheraton, and Westin vacation clubs] because all the experiences for … [Owners and Members] are always moments when people are taking a break from their lives. They’re with their closest loved ones — friends, family — and they are going back, again and again, to the same destinations, or within the same company. We love the idea of people forming memories of those fun moments that they’ve had around enjoying a can of wine and chilling by the pool. 

VL: When you look at the future of luxury travel, wine, and Une Femme, what excites you most? What’s your ultimate vision for Une Femme?

JP: What excites me is thinking about what young customers are interested in. Gen Z and millennial customers are a little bit different in terms of what they’re interested in from a travel perspective. They care so much less about spending their money on physical goods. They care about experiences: going out, seeing the world, and traveling to unusual and special destinations. Being able to photograph where they go and put it on TikTok or Instagram, sharing it with their broader online community. And those are some of the things that inspire me the most as an entrepreneur: finding ways for younger consumers to get excited about wine. We want to reach our younger customers with experiences that are exciting and inspiring for them, helping them associate memories of fun with the experience of drinking Une Femme. So that’s why we’re so happy and thrilled for our partnership … knowing that Owners [and Members] are already in the mindset of “I’m on vacation. I’m relaxing. I’m chilling. I’m having fun.”