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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.

Victoria James has worked in restaurants since she was thirteen. She fell in love with wine and when she was twenty-one became certified as a sommelier. She has worked at some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York City including Marea and Aureole. She is now the corporate beverage director of Piora in the West Village, and their new restaurant Cote. Victoria's name has appeared on many notable lists: Zagat's 30 Under 30, Wine Enthusiast's 40 Under 40, Forbes' 10 Innovators Under 30 Shaking Up the New York Food Scene, Wine & Spirits Best New Sommeliers, and thebacklabel.com declared her "New York's Youngest Sommelier." She travels as much as possible to vineyards around the world and writes about the stories behind the wines. In her free time, she makes Amaro from foraged plants. She lives in New York City with her sister Laura, her boyfriend, Lyle, and her dog, Rocco.