Victoria Taylor grew up moving around depending on the season, as her family split most of their time between New York in the summer and fall in South Florida during the winter and spring, with visits to Kentucky, California, and Europe sprinkled in. Victoria also spent time in West Elks, Colorado, where her family owned a fruit and vegetable farm. She views her upbringing as every child’s dream, a balance of both city and farm life.
In her teen years, Victoria worked at local restaurants in Jupiter, Florida, where she enjoyed being part of a collaborative team. Throughout college, Victoria worked at Bamboo Sushi, a sustainable restaurant in Portland, Oregon, where she learned about their suppliers and how the best cuts of fish begin with hard work from fishers and farmers. Eventually, Victoria moved on to work at Quaintrelle, another restaurant in Portland, committed to hyper-local fare. There, Victoria learned that the true goal of hospitality should not only be to provide an exceptional experience, but to act as a curator between the farmers and the guests sitting at the table.
Victoria was initially focused on becoming an environmental lawyer and studied Economics and Classical Studies at Lewis and Clark College, a liberal arts school in Portland, Oregon. At the time, she didn’t realize how apt Classical Studies would be to her future career. During college, Victoria helped work harvests and in a few cellars in the Willamette Valley where she fell in love with the vineyards and the hands-on process of making wine.
In 2018 Victoria moved to Bordeaux and studied hospitality at CAFA Formations, a wine-focused business school, where she gained practical knowledge about the industry, working the floor, and about wine itself. While in Bordeaux, she learned how to manage tastings, dinners, and parties, as well as the importance of making guests feel at home, from sommeliers Stéphane Boutiton and Marie-André Gagnon, both of whom remain Victoria’s mentors to this day. Recently, she has become more curious about high-altitude regions nestled into the Alps, where the purity of the grape and land are refreshingly clear in the bottle.
Following undergrad, Victoria recognized her calling and in September 2021, she joined Dinex Group as a sommelier at Bar Boulud. In early 2022 Victoria was promoted to head sommelier of Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud, Chef Daniel’s two Lincoln Center restaurants that offer an impressive and unique wine list. With her holistic approach to hospitality and exceptional service skills, Victoria is thrilled to integrate her understanding of the cultural and personal history to each bottle of wine. Victoria looks forward to creating great pairings for her guests and curating a selection of bottles from winemakers that have worked so hard to produce, in her words, “such a magical thing.”