AMY RACINE’S JOB TITLE, bever age director and partner at JF Restau rants, doesn’t even begin to capture the breadth and impact of her work. In addi tion to leading the beverage programs at chef John Fraser’s marquee portfolio of more than a dozen restaurants—including La Marchande in New York City, North Fork Table & Inn on Long Island, Vermilion in Boston, and the MICHELIN-starred Lilac in Tampa, Florida—she serves as the wine consultant for chef Kwame On wuachi’s acclaimed restaurant, Tatiana, in Manhattan’s Lincoln Center Plaza.
From composing stellar wine lists to creating cocktails and leading teams, Racine relishes the multifaceted nature of her position. “I love having something different to do every day,” she says, adding that she thrives on working with diverse teams for distinct restaurant concepts: “They allow you to flex different muscles and different areas of creativity.”
Racine’s love of all things food and beverage was cultivated in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where wine was an important part of family gatherings, and she was allowed to taste it. “My mom’s a great home cook, and she’s a great baker,” she notes. “And my dad is very, very interested in the culinary side [too]. . . . His side of the family is Italian Ameri can.” Accordingly, working in restaurants was always her game plan. And the proof exists in a memory book compiled by her mother: As a little girl, Racine wrote that she wanted to be a “chief” when she grew up. “I meant to say ‘chef,’ but I wrote ‘chief,’” she recalls with a laugh.
In pursuit of her dream, Racine studied at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. The wine cur riculum there shifted her focus: Studying the science and art of pairing showed her that she could “still be a part of food” even if she wasn’t behind the stove. After earn ing her bachelor’s degree in culinary arts, she enrolled in the Accelerated Wine and Beverage Program at the CIA’s Greystone campus in St. Helena, California.
Her work at JF Restaurants and Tatiana has earned her a growing list of accolades. She was named Beverage Director of the Year by Esquire in 2021, Wine Profes sional of the Year by VinePair in 2025, and one of Beverage Information Group’s 40 Under 40 leaders this year; in January, she was also listed as a semifinalist in the James Beard Awards’ Outstanding Profes sional in Beverage Service category.
As her fame grows, Racine is commit ted to making room for others at the table. In 2025, she launched Unfiltered, a monthly series of wine dinners to which she invites industry leaders to serve as guest sommeliers and donates a portion of the proceeds to their preferred char ity. Past participants include June Rodil, MS, who raised money for the Southern Smoke Foundation, and Cristie Norman, president of the United Sommeliers Foundation. “Unfiltered is about elevating the voices of hospitality leaders who are shaping the beverage culture in ways that go far beyond what’s in the glass,” explains Racine. She envisions it as “a chance to slow down, share a meal, and engage with the people who are expanding the defini tion of what hospitality can be.”
Perhaps it was a prediction rather than a mistake when the young Racine wrote “chief” instead of “chef” as her future goal. But like all good leaders, she knows that it takes a village to succeed: In her words, “Teams are the ones that make it happen.”
THE WINE CURRICULUM AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA SHIFTED HER FOCUS: STUDYING THE SCIENCE AND ART OF PAIRING SHOWED HER THAT SHE COULD “STILL BE A PART OF FOOD” EVEN IF SHE WASN’T BEHIND THE STOVE.
