Tatiana Parks Vande Velde, owner of Polynesian Girl Wines, was born and raised on the island of Raiatea in the town of Uturoa, French Polynesia. Her family owned a small restaurant and pub and farmed vegetables on the land that has been in her family for generations. To this day, family members continue that farming tradition as they raise Tahitian Vanilla.

At the age of 18, Tatiana entered a local island beauty pageant. One of the prizes was an airline ticket. Money was tight and Tatiana was hoping to help her father return to the United States so he could aid his aging mother. The ticket was won and her father returned to the U.S. He began working to save money for his family to join him.

Tatiana settled in Bellingham, Washington where she soon met her future husband, Jeremy, in a Kung Fu class that she attended with her sister, Grace.

Watching her father make wine in Washington sparked her interest and fascination in the entire wine-making process.

Besides keeping occupied with the day-to-day hands-on operation of a vineyard, Tatiana is proudly raising three children.