Sommelier
Keri Levens
- Discipline
- Sommelier
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
i. Biography
Sommelier work in New York asks for pace, restraint, and a read on the room. Keri Levens built her practice inside that pressure, moving through service-forward dining rooms where the list, the guest, and the floor have to stay in balance. Rutgers University and the Culinary Institute of America gave that work a formal base: disciplined study on one side, close attention to taste on the other.
Coming Up
Training at Rutgers University and the Culinary Institute of America set Keri Levens up for a career shaped by precision and taste. From there, she moved through New York dining rooms where service standards are watched closely, each role adding another layer to her control of both the floor and the cellar. At Union Square Hospitality Group, the pace and polish of service sharpened her instincts. As Head Sommelier at The Modern, the work demanded constant attention to detail while keeping hospitality intact. At Aquavit in New York, NY, Keri Levens moved from Service Director to Wine Director, shifting from the wider orchestration of the room to direct responsibility for wine. That progression shows a steady accumulation of skill rather than a single break with the past: keeping the guest experience visible while making the wine program specific, responsive, and current.
Where They Are Now
Levens serves as sommelier at Le Bernardin in New York, a role that places her in one of the city’s most recognized dining rooms and asks for exacting attention at every turn. Of the room, she has said, "We’re in midtown [Manhattan], a destination restaurant." The line captures something essential about the work: the sense of arrival, the expectation in the air, the concentration required to make a meal feel both composed and effortless.
Career - Sommelier — Chefs Club NYC, New York, NY - Sommelier — Union Square Hospitality Group - Head Sommelier — The Modern - Service Director — Aquavit, New York, NY - Wine Director — Aquavit, New York, NY Education: Rutgers University; Culinary Institute of America
Signature
Keri Levens’s wine focus includes AQ New York, Knock Out, and Volpetta Rosé. Read together, the picks point to range and character: bottles that can register as polished, bright, or quietly expressive depending on the moment. The emphasis is on clarity over volume, on wines that give a list shape and a table texture.
In Their Words “We’re in midtown [Manhattan], a destination restaurant.” “It’s experimental and so much fun.” Taken together, the two lines show a voice grounded in place but open to risk. For Levens, the work sits in that balance between control and play, between the discipline of service and the pleasure of discovery.
FAQ Where did Keri Levens train or study? Keri Levens trained at Rutgers University and Culinary Institute of America. What recognition has Keri Levens received? Valedictorian of the Culinary Institute of America class.
