Victoria James: America's Youngest Sommelier and Her Journey Through the Wine Industry

Jill CrosslandJill Crossland: Until recently, I was relatively oblivious to the dark side of the wine and food industry. Then, in the last few years, sexual harassment claims against famous male chefs bought with it an opening of the flood gates of what it was like to be a woman in those fields.

This brings us to Victoria James’ memoir Wine Girl; the title itself represents two words male clients use to dimmish the role of a female sommelier. This multi-faceted book pulls you into James’ world, of a childhood that Charles Dickens could have written, a teenager whose only option was to take on the role and responsibilities of an adult, then a student of all things wine. Yet, despite the challenges and men who disparage her, she doesn’t stray into overanalyzing or self-pity; instead, James remains committed to who she is and the goals she will not let anyone stop her from achieving.

Wine Girl shares equally the fascinating parts of the wine world and its misogynistic realities. However, the main takeaway is that the industry can evolve through the influence of women like Victoria James.

Wine and food are among life’s pleasures; this should hold true for those who have embraced a role...

Canada on Jun 04, 2022

Dave loraas: It was a good read.

Canada on Jan 16, 2022

Books by Sarah Robinson: I'm Victoria's oldest sister (not mentioned in the book due to my lawyer telling her to leave me out). My father lost his job after this book came out and our family was torn in two. I held his hands many times as he cried and hit low points I'd never seen before. I wrote a review on this previously that had over 400 likes, but Amazon removed it for some reason along with most of my other reviews. They tell me it's a glitch and they are working to put it back, but in the meantime, I felt it important to repeat some things.

My father made well over 6 figures a year most of our childhood. We grew up in a 5-6 bedroom houses and never had to share a bedroom. We had more food than we knew what to do with (believe me, I ate it all). I don't know what the claims of pickle juice and crackers being all we had to eat came from. We had nannies who lived with us and ate just fine. We were beyond privileged.

Did my father have a drinking issue? Yes, there was a time when he struggled with this after he was in one of the tower that collapsed in NYC on 9/11. Bodies landed around him. He almost died. He walked from NYC to NJ and we didn't know until 10pm that night when he walked in...

United States on Sep 12, 2021

Paul Emerton: The author’s insights bring a welcome understanding of her role as a sommelier and the steps she has taken to reach her position. It is also painful and humbling to read of the physical and verbal attack she has received - simply, that should not happen in a civilised society.
The author’s writing style is very readable and conveys the hard work she has undertaken, together with a clear interest in both working for customers but her passion for wine.

United Kingdom on Aug 03, 2020

Creative Intentions: Thanks for sharing your life with us Victoria. You are a role model for every girl and young woman. No one should have to have taken all the crap that you were exposed to but in the end, you succeeded and overcame all your challenges. Looking forward to reading more about you and your success! This book has some graphic details and is not for the faint of heart.

Canada on Jul 30, 2020

B. Crosby: My initial review was a bit harsh. I had to calm myself and reflect. My frustration was in the author’s lack of seeming self-developmental progress, and inability to deal with conflict, especially when it involved sexual assault. Her reaction was to let it go, pretend it never happened, and try to move on. But you only can use the tools in your toolbox, and I don’t think anyone has ever taught her to stand up for herself and confront men, especially when they behave criminally. On top of that, she works in a segment of the service industry that has very low tolerance for correcting customers. Customers are so rich that to risk losing them would mean thousands of dollars in profits as opposed to say losing an Applebee’s customer. Management would rather just look the other way and allow their staff to be abused by customers, emotionally, psychologically, sexually, mentally, etc. While the author does find a more enlightened restaurant, she has also climbed the ranks, so naturally, both customers and staff tend to treat her better. Does she ever acquire the ability to demand respect from others, or is it the fact that she’s now part owner of the restaurant and a director?...

United States on Jun 30, 2020

Amazon Customer: In some ways I hope some of the book is not true as am embarrassed to be a man as the behaviour of some of these often wealthy and educated men is horrendous. I lay awake one night wanting to find one of these men and punch his lights out.

Cleary the book affected me a lot and I read it over a couple of days.

She is one tough cookie and my hat goes off for in admiration.

United Kingdom on Apr 06, 2020