“At first, guests would mistake me for the coat check girl or ask for the ‘real sommelier’ to come over, but I don’t mind that I sometimes had to go further to prove myself, because I like where it has brought me,” says James, who became a sommelier at age 21. At Michelin-starred Piora, James oversees a list of 300 small-producer labels from Italy, France, the U.S. and beyond. She has a particular passion for Swiss bottlings, amassing the largest selection in the country.