Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier
    Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier
    Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier
    Audiobook10 hours

    Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier

    Written by Victoria James

    Narrated by Victoria James

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    An affecting memoir from the country’s youngest sommelier, tracing her path through the glamorous but famously toxic restaurant world

    At just twenty-one, the age when most people are starting to drink (well, legally at least), Victoria James became the country’s youngest sommelier at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Even as Victoria was selling bottles worth hundreds and thousands of dollars during the day, passing sommelier certification exams with flying colors, and receiving distinction from all kinds of press, there were still groping patrons, bosses who abused their role and status, and a trip to the hospital emergency room.

    It would take hitting bottom at a new restaurant and restorative trips to the vineyards where she could feel closest to the wine she loved for Victoria to re-emerge, clear-eyed and passionate, and a proud leader of her own Michelin-starred restaurant.

    Exhilarating and inspiring, Wine Girl is the memoir of a young woman breaking free from an abusive and traumatic childhood on her own terms; an ethnography of the glittering, high-octane, but notoriously corrosive restaurant industry; and above all, a love letter to the restorative and life-changing effects of good wine and good hospitality.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 24, 2020
    ISBN9780062961709
    Author

    Victoria James

    Victoria James has worked in restaurants since she was thirteen. She was certified as a sommelier when she was twenty-one, making her the youngest sommelier in the country. She was Food & Wine’s Sommelier of the Year in 2018, and has appeared on both Forbes and Zagat’s “30 Under 30” lists. She has worked at some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York City, including Marea and Aureole. Currently, she is the Beverage Director and partner at Cote, a Michelin-starred hot spot in the Flatiron district. She is the author of Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rosé, which Harper Design published in 2017.

    More audiobooks from Victoria James

    Related to Wine Girl

    Related audiobooks

    Biography & Memoir For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Brilliant Barbera

      Jun 2, 2021

      Brilliant Barbera
      6 min read

    • Article

      Top 20 Buys: Soave

      Jun 2, 2021

      Top 20 Buys: Soave
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Future of Wine

      Mar 1, 2014

      The Future of Wine
      2 min read

    • Article

      The 50 Best Wine Trips

      Aug 2, 2023

      The 50 Best Wine Trips
      35 min read

    • Article

      Burgundy's Existential Challenge

      Mar 15, 2022

      Burgundy's Existential Challenge
      6 min read

    • Article

      Down In The Dirt

      Feb 2, 2021

      Down In The Dirt
      6 min read

    • Article

      Enjoying Oysters at Home

      Oct 5, 2021

      Enjoying Oysters at Home
      2 min read

    • Article

      Top 100 Best Buys Of 2021

      Sep 28, 2021

      Top 100 Best Buys Of 2021
      20 min read

    • Article

      No Sugar Coating

      Apr 11, 2022

      No Sugar Coating
      5 min read

    • Article

      Yuzu

      May 23, 2021

      Yuzu
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40

      Aug 24, 2021

      Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40
      16 min read

    • Article

      Cocktail of the Month: In Step

      Oct 3, 2023

      Cocktail of the Month: In Step
      1 min read

    • Article

      Hooray For Chardonnay

      Mar 3, 2020

      Hooray For Chardonnay
      9 min read

    • Article

      Wine Wisdom

      Nov 2, 2022

      Wine Wisdom
      3 min read

    • Article

      Your Letters

      Oct 6, 2021

      Your Letters
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Wino Files

      Jul 29, 2019

      The Wino Files
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Crash In The Vin

      Feb 17, 2022

      SO there I was at a frightfully swish reception held by one of the finest of all Grande Marque champagne houses. The great and the good of the wine trade were there plus assorted riff-raff, hangers-on, liggers and freeloaders such as me and the bubbl

      3 min read

    • Article

      INTERVIEW WITH Christian Briard

      Dec 25, 2021

      What is the story of your Maison de Champagne? Where is it located? Christian Briard: My Maison is nestled in the heart of the Marne Valley western part, kingdom of the Meuniers. Its establishment is recent (a dozen years) but its history is much lon

      3 min read

    • Article

      Notes & Queries

      Dec 2, 2020

      Why is the alcohol content for Champagne always 12%? Curtis Penfold, London, UK Anne Krebiehl MW says: Champagne used to be a region at the northerly confines of viticulture – producers thus made a virtue out of necessity: the second fermentation add

      3 min read

    • Article

      Bubbly Bonus

      Dec 3, 2021

      Bubbly Bonus
      6 min read

    • Article

      Glass Acts

      Jun 25, 2018

      “MY FAVOURITE WINE STYLE IS MÉTHODE CAP CLASSIQUE. WHO DOESN’T LOVE A PARTY IN A BOTTLE? – SYDNEY MELLO I grew up in Mahwelereng in Limpopo, where there is plenty of mampoer, mangoes, avocados and table grapes, but not much wine! My journey really be

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Champagne ambassador

      May 5, 2021

      What’s the best thing about your job? The fact that no one is ever sad to see me – most likely as I usually have a bottle of Champagne with me. I’m so fortunate to be able to visit some of the UK’s most incredible restaurants, hotels and bars and edu

      2 min read

    • Article

      We Are All Experts Now

      Jan 14, 2021

      PITY the poor sommelier. The cost to the hospitality industry of this wretched plague and pestilence has been incalculable, with thousands of staff out of work. Those sommeliers lucky enough to have jobs to go back to found that, during these ridicul

      3 min read

    • Article

      Make Your Fizz Go Further

      Dec 14, 2023

      Make Your Fizz Go Further
      6 min read

    • Article

      Madeira, Nothing To Fear

      Oct 15, 2020

      MY wife says that it proves I’m a doddering old fool. I say that it proves I’m broadening my horizons. She says I’m a lush. I say it takes one to know one. She says… Oh, hang it, you don’t need to hear all this, we can go on for hours. The point is t

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Wine Girl

    4/5

    47 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This storyline shows how you can have a rough childhood and early life, but you can meet your dreams and help change things for the future. I was inspired by her fortitude to push forward and work on change.
    • 5/5
      Loved this inside look at the wine world and Victoria James' life.
    • 3/5
      I'm sad that reading about the abuse Ms. James encountered didn't shock me. Women still have a long way to go!I really enjoyed the look inside the world of wine and the sommelier's training and responsibilities . That part was very well written.With the author's personal life, though, I had a sense that there was a lot left out. Maybe she isn't ready to tell the whole story as she is still young. Overall, worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Don’t be fooled into thinking that ‘Master Sommelier’ is simply a pretty label for someone that knows wine; The title was well earned.
      What Victoria lives through to be able to share her love of wine with people will break your heart, only to leave you amazed and inspired by how she found a way to thrive in a world where most people want to pull you down.
      Like any good meal paired well, this memoir made me want to return to her restaurant & experience more.
      I absolutely loved this powerful, could-not- put- down wine adventure.
      *Definitely for fans of Educated by Tara Westover.