The newest list of Restaurant Award winners has arrived. In 2017, Wine Spectator is honoring 3,592 restaurants—hailing from all 50 states and more than 75 countries—for their outstanding dedication to wine. The awards are given across three categories: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award.
“It’s a great honor to be included as a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winner among all the other great restaurants being recognized. It’s a great association to be a part of,” said Gretchen Thomas, wine and spirits director for Barteca Restaurant Group, whose 13 locations of Barcelona Wine Bar each received the Best of Award of Excellence in 2017.
The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. Whether compact or extensive, focused or diverse, these wine lists deliver appropriate choices to satisfy discerning wine lovers. This year, 2,335 restaurants achieved the Award of Excellence, with 457 of those earning it for the first time in 2017.
The Best of Award of Excellence, granted to 1,168 restaurants in 2017, honors wine programs that take their commitment a step further; it recognizes lists that display excellent breadth across multiple regions and/or significant vertical depth of top wines, along with superior presentation.
The Grand Award, the program’s highest honor, is the ultimate recognition for restaurants with world-class wine programs. This coveted award is presented to restaurants that show uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine program. These wine lists, which typically have 1,000 or more selections, deliver serious breadth of top producers and outstanding depth in mature vintages, in addition to selections of large-format bottles. Along with superior presentation of the wine list and its excellent harmony with the menu, these restaurants offer the highest level of wine service. Wine Spectator inspects all candidates for the Grand Award to evaluate the overall dining experience and cellar.
Thousands of restaurants applied, but in 2017, only five received the Grand Award for the first time. Now part of an exclusive club of 89 Grand Award winners across the globe, these five winners are Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House in New York, Grill 23 & Bar in Boston, Les Climats in Paris, PM & Vänner in Växjö, Sweden, and Wally’s Beverly Hills in California. Read full profiles of them at Restaurants.WineSpectator.com or in the Aug. 31 issue of Wine Spectator, available on newsstands July 18.
Find the perfect place to drink well at Restaurants.WineSpectator.com, which features all of Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Award winners in a free database searchable by location, cuisine type, wine strengths, pricing and award level. To access restaurant recommendations on the go, try Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards app, available free on iTunes. All award winners are also featured in the Aug. 31 issue of Wine Spectator, which includes detailed analysis of wine-list trends.
Throughout the year, keep on top of restaurant-related news and trends and learn more about the Restaurant Award winners in Q&As with leading sommeliers, chefs and restaurateurs, as well as in roundups of exciting restaurants in different categories, from perfect pizza places to bucket-list destinations. Sign up for our free Private Guide to Dining email newsletter so you don't miss anything!
