In vino we trust

While most Flyers might envision flinging a case of light beer over their shoulder en route to a house party on Lowes, recent graduate Abigail “Abby” Taylor ’25 jokes that she would prefer a bottle of Barbera from the Piedmont region of Italy.

“I’ve kind of stopped going to a lot of those parties. But if I did go down for St. Patrick’s Day or something, I’d probably bring a nice bottle,” she laughed.

As a junior at UD, Taylor passed the first exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers certification just after turning 21. The CMS is the global standard exam for beverage service. Taylor is now one of the youngest sommeliers in Ohio.

“There’s not really a ton of certified sommeliers in Ohio, especially in Dayton,” said Taylor, who majored in communication.

Sophomore year, Taylor began working at local restaurant and bar Sueño where she was introduced to general manager and sommelier Lauren Gay.

“At first, I didn’t really know anything about wine. I was just like, it’s wine — how complicated can it be? Which was so wrong,” she said.

Taylor observed Gay’s enthusiasm as she educated customers about wine. “[Lauren] is super passionate — it’s so inspiring,” Taylor said.

This pushed her to start studying to take the CMS test. The four-level education program begins with an introductory course and test, and ends with the master sommelier certification exam. There are only 171 master sommeliers in the U.S., and just 25 are female.

“I also like being able to teach people and have them be excited about wine but not intimidate them. That’s the dream.”

Through her level one coursework, which Taylor passed, she learned about tasting notes from different regions, wine theory and various grape varieties. She is studying for level two, but she’s not sure if she will ever be able to call herself a “master.”

“It’s like a 4% pass rate (for the master test),” she said. “It’s intense, but I’ve been studying a lot.”

Taylor followed Gay as she opened up her own wine shop and bar, Joui Wine in Dayton’s Fire Blocks District. In her role as bartender, graphic designer and marketer, Taylor has been an asset to the business since its opening nearly two years ago, Gay said.

“I don’t understand how she does all the things she does,” said Gay. “It’s an honor that she would even find me to be an inspiration because it’s very much mutual.”

Gay said that Taylor is not only an exceptional staff member but truly shines in her creativity. During the holiday season, Taylor created a holiday-themed cocktail — a riff on a Manhattan with lots of spice. It turned into one of Joui’s bestsellers.

“It was called The Spice Girl,” Gay said. “It was a very male-preferred cocktail because it’s a lot of bourbon. Abby had the idea for the name, so that every man who ordered it had to ask, ‘Can I have a Spice Girl?’”

Following graduation in May, Taylor said she didn’t want to start her post-college life anywhere other than Dayton.

“I’d love to do something with marketing for a wine bar, maybe opening my own shop and running operations there, and doing marketing and social media,” Taylor said. “I also like being able to teach people and have them be excited about wine but not intimidate them. That’s the dream.”

Cheers to that, Abby. 

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2025 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 50. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE