Books: “Wine Girl” by Victoria James

Several months back, during the height of the pandemic, we had the opportunity to dine at Cote, a classy Korean bbq joint in Flatiron. The weather was freezing, but the vibe was hot. In fact, we liked it so much, we went back with a couple of friends a few months later.

While we were ordering, the sommelier, a young woman, came to our tent (it was outdoor eating only back then.) As she quietly shared some ideas about wines to accompany our food, one of our table mates suddenly said to her, “You’re Wine Girl, aren’t you?”

The sommelier, whose name is Victoria James, just smiled.

Turns out VJ is one of the most celebrated sommeliers in the country. She’s appeared on Zagat’s and Forbes 30 under 30 lists and has now written “Wine Girl, “ an irresistible account of her career in the food and wine industry. And what she has to say about restaurants we New Yorkers hold near and dear to our heart may ward you off them for good.

VJ’s story starts much earlier, though—from a troubled childhood in New Jersey with an abusive father; a job slinging hash in a cheesy turnpike diner where she was not only dissed but raped; to a break at Lattanzi, an old-fashioned Italian restaurant in the theater district.

From there, she went on to bartending stints at Harry’s at Hanover Square, Aureole, and Marea, where she not only learned the wine business but also discovered how sleazy and misogynistic the whole restaurant industry was. (And I thought advertising was bad. Full disclosure: it is.) She was called “Wine Girl” pejoratively by fat men in cheap suits who regarded her as a short skirt to be fondled, pushed around, and of course never taken seriously.

It was only when she met Simon Kim, the owner of Piora in the West Village, and later Cote that she got her groove back —and despite working 26 hours a day, she still found time to write a memoir that’s as delish as a 2000 Bordeaux.

Fascinating, heartfelt, plain spoken, and most of all real. And rather than forget her tough road to the top, VJ runs programs to promote wine knowledge among women and minorities. I’ll drink to that.