Like many young, hopeful New York transplants, Sarah Tracey moved to the city to pursue a music career. And as all of those young people learn—New York is expensive! She took a “survival job” as a cocktail waitress and as they say: “The rest is history!”
Once Sarah realized her love of learning and educating people about wine, she became a full-time sommelier. She worked for nearly six years at City Winery New York before going on to help Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali open La Sirena at the Maritime Hotel in New York. Now, she works as a consultant to help build successful wine programs at restaurants, such as Rouge Tomate Chelsea—an NYC restaurant that just received a Michelin star.
Outside of restaurants, Sarah realized there was a greater need for wine education. “I realized my friends felt so intimidated walking into a wine shop or choosing from a restaurant wine list–they loved drinking wine, but they didn’t even know where to go to learn more about it,” Sarah explains. (We can relate!)