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A new survey lists 182 US cities for foodies ranked on a number of factors – can you guess which city came out top?The final night of the Wine Experience is marked by the Grand Award Banquet, which provides a last chance to catch up with longtime friends, make new ones and talk about the incredible wines everyone had the chance to try over the past few days.
But it’s also the official recognition of the restaurants which have recently joined one of the most exclusive clubs on earth—Wine Spectator Grand Award winners. These 91 restaurants, located in 14 states and 16 countries, have built the most impressive wine selections and service in the world.
At the banquet, executive editor Thomas Matthews explained how Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken first proposed the Grand Awards. “The Restaurant Awards program was an idea that Marvin came up with in 1981 that no one believed in,” explained Matthews. “He said, ‘Restaurants in this country have crappy wine lists. This is something we have to fix. How can we fix it? Let’s give an incentive to restaurants to build up their wine lists and that will give consumers a reason to go to those restaurants.’”
“Everyone said, ‘It will never work.’ So here we are in 2018, and nearly 4,000 restaurants around the world are in our program. It’s become the crown jewel of a restaurant to win a Grand Award.”
Befitting such an auspicious evening, the celebration started with Champagne. Guests gathered in a ballroom downstairs for hors d’oeuvres and a selection of nine different top-flight bubblies, including Bollinger Brut Champagne Special Cuvée NV, Perrier-Joüet Brut Rosé Champagne Blason NV and Pol Roger Brut Champagne 2008. Attendees could say hello to some of the vintners who presented their wines during the weekend. Several longtime winemakers snapped selfies with old and new friends.
Upstairs, guests dined and enjoyed the wines of Domaine Serene in Oregon, whose owners, Grace and Ken Evenstad, were being honored with Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award. The Evenstads joined a who’s who of the wine industry at the head table, including Angelo Gaja, Piero Antinori, Prince Robert of Luxembourg of Château Haut-Brion and Mel Dick of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.
The restaurateurs and sommeliers representing the 7 new Grand Award winners for 2018 recounted the lifetime of work put into building such amazing programs, featuring thousands of wine selections. Ryan Fletter, owner and wine director of Denver’s Barolo Grill, said, “I actually cried when I first got this award. I’ve been at Barolo Grill for 25 years. I was a busboy, bartender, wine director, general manager … I’m a bit of a wine eccentric in that I can’t stop buying it and collecting it and serving it and serving it the right way.”
For Paul Mekis, wine director of Madera in Menlo Park, Calif., the Grand Award was a sign of how far American wine service has come in the past few decades. “I would like to thank Wine Spectator for opening our eyes to the world of wine since 1976,” he said. “I feel honored to be a part of such an elite group.”
The winners also recognized that the Grand Award is not just for who can amass the biggest wine cellar—it’s a recognition of excellent service and food. “This is a hospitality award,” said Hristo Zisovski, beverage director of New York’s Ai Fiori. “So to all our guests, past and future, thank you for coming in. Thank you for letting us take care of you.”
Hospitality was also on the mind of the Distinguished Service Award winners. The Evenstads moved to Oregon’s Willamette Valley when its wines were still relatively unknown. They have helped build it into a world-class wine region and are now giving back, including donating $6 million to establishing the Grace and Ken Evenstad Center for Wine Education at Linfield College in Oregon. Accepting the award, Grace remarked, “Most importantly, I want to thank all of our customers who have supported Domaine Serene all these years. Thank you.”
A celebration is never complete without music, and the night was capped off with a performance by R&B legends Kool & the Gang, performing “Celebration,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Ladies’ Night” and numerous other hits. It was certainly the perfect night to celebrate good times.
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Meet Jeremy Chan, Rob Roy Cameron and Gonzalo Luzarraga, three chefs that are innovating borderless cuisine in the UK capital.Passion, natural beauty, tradition, life … the 10 wines deemed the “most exciting” of 2017 encapsulate all these things and more. When K Vintners founder Charles Smith launched into an emotion-filled declaration of the things he wants in his wine, he struck a chord with generations of vintners and wine drinkers in the room. Maybe not everyone seeks “rock ‘n’ roll” in what they drink and hopefully not every wine represents “heartache,” but surely we hope to find goodness, tenderness, love and laughter when we share our favorites with each other.
Every year, Wine Spectator’s senior editors create the magazine’s Top 100 list, sharing with readers the wines that most excited them for their combination of quality, value, availability and the elusive “X-factor.” It all starts with a list of wines that rated 90 points or higher that year. “Going from almost 7,000 wines to 100 is not an easy job,” said senior editor Alison Napjus. To get down to the Top 10 is even tougher.
The editors from New York and Napa gather in one room to evaluate, debate and finally anoint the top candidates. “The tasting is completely blind,” Napjus explained. “We let the wines wow us. We are looking for the biggest X-factor of all—a wine that makes you stop when you smell it in the glass and then really speaks to you when you taste it.”
In a series of four Top 10 of 2017 tastings over the weekend, Wine Experience guests had a chance to see if those 10 wines also wowed them, while the owners and winemakers spoke about the history and personalities behind each.
The first flight brought together three classic reds: Brunello di Montalcino, Bordeaux and California Cabernet, each with a bit of a twist. Tuscany’s Casanova di Neri is no stranger to the Top 100, appearing four times with its Tenuta Nuova bottling. While the winery helped pioneer the single-vineyard trend in Brunello di Montalcino, wine No. 4 focused on regional tradition, with the first showing for the winery’s introductory “White Label,” a blend from multiple sites, aged more than 40 months in large casks. Also for the first time, owner Giacomo Neri’s son, Giovanni, took the stage, the third generation stepping into the family business. The 2012, an extreme year and his first official one with the winemaking team, is “a vintage you can start to enjoy now or wait 20 years. … We always look for the balance, concentration in the glass, drinkability and aging potential.”
Challenging growers’ reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, Count Stephan von Neipperg asked, “How can you have life in your wine if you have no life in your soil?” When he adopted organic farming at Château Canon-La Gaffelière, the practice was revolutionary at the time for St.-Emilion. He also eschewed the reliance on clones in favor of a diverse mix of Merlot and Cabernet Franc cultivated through massal selection from the best old vines on his property. The results have put his wines in the Top 10 twice before. For the structured 2014 at No. 7, as with all his wines, he wanted it to be “fresh, drinkable and not overextracted. That means in the vinification, you have to be really lazy.” To achieve true balance, he added, “You have to not work too much.”
A love for Napa led to the creation of Hestan winery and its companion labels, Meyer and Stephanie, in a whole new corner of the county for vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon. Fulfilling a decades-old dream, cookware magnate Stanley Cheng, of Meyer Corporation, bought 237 acres of land in an area “most of you have never heard of”—Gordon Valley, near the southeastern boundary—and planted a vineyard in 1997, eventually hiring star winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. In naming Hestan, Cheng said, “I put my wife Helen before me, Stanley, and great things started to happen.” Aged in 50 percent new French oak, the supple Meyer Cabernet 2014, at No. 8, is designed to be approachable young.
The second flight brought together three forceful personalities, each as unique as their wines made from Rhône varieties, representing emerging regions from the New and Old Worlds. Evoking repeated laughter from the crowd, Booker founder Eric Jensen, representing Paso Robles (an area “used to being kicked to the curb”), implored the “fancy” audience to not take wine too seriously, not to make it into an “aristocratic sport.” He shared a secret: “This ain’t brain surgery. I could take anyone in the audience and have you making wine by Monday. … It’s just booze.” Mostly forgoing the usual technical details about wine No. 10, his 2014 Oublié, an expressive Grenache-Mourvèdre-Counoise blend, he said, “I just want to make the wine yummy. I don’t need you trying to figure out what I was doing.”
Tenderness was evident in the way Louis Barruol created his Château de St.-Cosme blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah from an estate his family has farmed in the Southern Rhône’s underappreciated Gigondas appellation since the end of the 15th century. The pure, intense 2015, at No. 5, underwent whole-cluster fermentation—”there is no destemming with us”—with native yeast in concrete tanks. Starting at the age of 8, Barruol spent 30 years apprenticing with his father, when in 2007, he finally said, “I have taught you everything I can teach you. Now you can continue on your own.” But remarking on how knowledge serves creativity, how many unknowns remain in wine and how much is to be gained from training others, Barruol concluded, “To be a winegrower is to love learning all your life right through the end.”
The embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll, the wild-haired, edgy Smith doesn’t hold back with his wines or his thoughts. He released his first K Syrah from Washington in 2001 and soon became a regional powerhouse, branching out with additional brands and new sites. His sustainably farmed Powerline vineyard was planted in 2012 (the same year his daughter was born) on an ancient riverbed in the Walla Walla appellation, and from its first commercial harvest in 2014 was bearing fruit of high enough quality to make the deep, smooth No. 2 wine of 2017. After sharing his philosophy on wine to thunderous applause, he concluded with how thankful he is: “I can’t believe I get to do this for my life.”
Saturday featured three whites, from dry to off-dry to sweet, all represented by a new generation of women managing their family estates after having pursued other careers.
A desire to live life well led Cleo Pahlmeyer’s father, Jayson, to quit his career as an attorney to start Pahlmeyer in 1986 in Napa Valley. Now Cleo is president and the 30th anniversary edition of the winery’s Proprietary Red is about to be released. But the No. 9 spot went to its opulent, silky Chardonnay (which played a pivotal role in the 1994 film Disclosure) from a cool vineyard high on Atlas Peak that provides a backbone of acidity. Aged all in new French oak, she said, the 2015 “is a classic full-bodied Chardonnay with beautiful intensity, texture and what I always look for in the wine, volume.”
The commitment to natural beauty (as Smith put it, “no makeup needed”) remains strong at Loire Chenin Blanc icon Domaine Huët, purchased by the Hwang family in 2003. “Gaston Huët was a visionary who encouraged purity of expression in the wines and the preservation of authenticity of terroir,” said Sarah Hwang. “Our aim is to reflect the essence of each vineyard site through the lens of each growing season,” in part by farming biodynamically to respect the environment. At No. 6, the 2016 demi-sec from Le Mont vineyard, according to editor at large Harvey Steiman, showed “a tension between steely minerality and sweetness.” Of this off-dry style, Hwang said, “To us, demi-sec is the classic representation of the potential of Vouvray—it is the vessel by which our terroirs are best expressed.”
If any wines embody heartache, it must be those where the risk is high, but the reward so worthwhile, such as the sweet wines of Bordeaux. These “gold wines,” as Château Coutet’s Aline Baly refers to them to counter the perception that they are only for dessert, are dependent on the arrival of noble rot at just the right time to concentrate the ripe grapes and contribute its distinctive aromas. “Botrytis is an anarchist,” quipped Baly, explaining why they made seven passes through the vineyard over 19 days, picking each individual berry as it was ready, to create their fresh, vivid 2014 Barsac, the No. 3 wine.
A passion for the wines of Bordeaux’s Right Bank led to Dan and Margaret Duckhorn founding Duckhorn winery in 1976, with the express intent to make great Merlot. Though the variety “has had a few bumps in the road,” as CEO and president Alex Ryan put it, it can rank among the best in the world, as was evident in 2017’s Wine of the Year. Duckhorn’s elegant, layered Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2014, overseen by winemaker Renée Ary, comes from a warm, rocky, valley-floor site in northern Napa’s Calistoga appellation that the winery has relied on since 1978 and now owns. Echoing a sentiment expressed by many of the Top 10 winners, Ryan concluded, “Most of the great vineyards, the less you do, the better they make wine.”
When it came to Smith’s desire for “goodness,” maybe no one can live up to his standard of Mr. Rogers, but each of the Top 10 wines had clearly been created with “a full heart” and a full commitment to the craft.
Discover a selection of some of the best vegetable-forward restaurants in the US and which state boasts the most.For his next wine project, filmmaker-turned-vintner Francis Ford Coppola is turning to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. His wine company, The Family Coppola, is purchasing Vista Hills Vineyard, in the Dundee Hills subappellation, from the McClintock and McDaniel families. The sale includes Vista Hill’s 42-acre estate vineyard, planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, along with the Treehouse tasting room, but not the Vista Hills brand.
Coppola plans to launch a new Pinot Noir–focused brand at the site. Vista Hills winemaker Dave Petterson is joining The Family Coppola and will produce the wines for the new label. The sales price was not disclosed.
The team at The Family Coppola, parent company of Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Virginia Dare Winery and American Pioneer Winegrowers, had been looking for an Oregon property for several years but wanted to find an estate where the family could create their own brand. “Francis loves the property and the tasting room, and the bones of it,” Corey Beck, CEO and chief winemaker at The Family Coppola, told Wine Spectator.
The McClintock and McDaniel families will no longer be involved in the winery but will retain a residence on the property. ”They were really thoughtful about who was going to buy the winery,” said Petterson. “They cared about finding a buyer that didn’t have ideas of building a giant brand.”
Founders John and Nancy McClintock purchased 20 acres of land and an old farmhouse at the summit of the Dundee Hills in 1995. Two years later they planted Pinot Gris and eventually expanded the vineyard to 42 acres, adding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. The McClintocks’ daughter and her husband, Cristy and David McDaniel, managed the estate.
The deal comes as Vista Hill is wrapping up harvest, and the Coppolas will use the grapes for their planned Oregon brand. Details of the brand will be announced later this year. Beck says the label will focus on Pinot Noir from the different blocks and clones. They will also produce a Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Vista Hills won’t produce any wine from the 2018 vintage, but the McClintocks will retain the brand and may produce a small amount of personal wine.
The company doesn’t plan to make any major changes to the estate. It is redecorating the tasting room and will add memorabilia from Coppola’s films. But it will not build a winery on the property and will continue to produce the wines at a separate facility. Vista Hills produced nearly 7,600 cases of wine a year and sold some of its grapes to other wineries including Soter, Dobbes Family Estate and Elizabeth Chambers. Going forward the company will no longer sell the grapes, allowing the estate to expand production to 10,000 cases a year. The Family Coppola currently has an annual production over 200,000 cases a year, across their brands.
This is The Family Coppola’s first foray into Oregon, expanding upon its already sizable California wine ventures. They join a growing list of California wine companies that have recently invested in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, including Jackson Family Wines and Foley Family Wines.
Beck says the Coppola family may consider buying other Oregon properties but wants to create a footprint in the region first. “We weren’t just going to buy a property to say we are here,” said Beck. “It has to be the right fit and feel.”
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It can be challenging to find a middle-ground between intimidating fine wine shops and retailers with mundane, mass-produced labels. These destinations hold Restaurant Awards for outstanding wine experiences in the dining room, but they also stand out for expertly selected retail shops. Discover 11 eateries with adjoining wine stores offering exciting picks and familiar favorites for dining out or taking home.
To check out more wine-and-food destinations around the world, see Wine Spectator’s more than 3,500 Restaurant Award–winning picks, including the 91 Grand Award recipients worldwide that hold our highest honor.
Do you have a favorite you’d like to see on this list? Send your recommendations to restaurantawards@mshanken.com. We want to hear from you!
WALLY’S BEVERLY HILLS
Casual dining in a fine wine store
447 Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, Calif.
(310) 475-3540
www.wallywine.com
Open for lunch and dinner, daily
Grand Award
Wine list selections 3,000
Inventory 30,000
Hollywood hot spot While it’s known to host prominent regulars like business leaders and movie stars, Wally’s is far from pretentious. The dining room is modern and welcoming, not extravagant, and guests will feel comfortable in anything from tuxes to T-shirts.
Wine strengths The wine list offers all the bottles available at retail, at a $40 upcharge. Wine director Matthew Turner’s vast selection shines in California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône, Italy and Champagne, with plenty of insider labels to please avid collectors.
Cuisine Hints of French cuisine are evident in the refined regional menu. Chef David Féau takes advantage of the shop’s high-end food products, offering several variations of caviar service and shaving fresh truffles over dishes like sweet corn agnolotti and a roasted whole chicken. Starters such as wagyu steak tartare and pomme frites with housemade ketchup are perfect for snacking at the buzzy bar.
Plans for expansion The team debuted a second location in Santa Monica, Calif., Oct. 6. The space is 50 percent larger than the one in Beverly Hills, with an extended wine list of more than 4,500 selections to match. Co-owner Christian Navarro told Wine Spectator he hopes to turn Wally’s into an international brand with openings in cities such as New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Miami and Las Vegas.
750ML WINES
A neighborhood boutique with a cozy bar
2287 W. Market St., Akron, Ohio
(330) 794-5754
www.750mlwines.com
Open for dinner, Monday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 675
Inventory 4,500
Wine strengths Owner and wine director Lauren Carpeta oversees the well-priced list that’s strongest in California and France. More than 20 wines are available by the glass or in customizable flights of four.
Cuisine The menu consists of sharable dishes like artichoke-Asiago dip and soft pretzel sticks, as well as flatbreads with toppings like spicy buffalo chicken and fig with prosciutto. There are also cheese and charcuterie boards with house-baked bread and seasonal accompaniments.
Lengthening list The selection has continued to expand since 750ml Wines first earned an Award of Excellence in 2011, when the list featured about 550 selections. The team aims for a healthy mix of familiar labels and ones that guests haven’t encountered before.
Big names on a budget 750ml Wines prices most bottles at under $100—with many under $50—even while representing benchmark producers from around the world like Hall, Penfolds, Joseph Drouhin and Pio Cesare.
THE CARLTON
Pittsburgh’s prized wine restaurant since 1984
500 Grant St., BNY Mellon Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
(412) 391-4099
www.thecarltonrestaurant.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 900
Inventory 8,100
Wine strengths While the vibe is inherently upscale, the Carlton has an exceptionally well-priced wine list. Managed by wine director Kevin Joyce, the list boasts the most selections of all Restaurant Award winners in Pittsburgh, highlighting California, France and Italy.
Cuisine Executive chef Simon de John has worked in the Carlton kitchen for nearly a decade. The menu is made up of American classics like crab cakes, steaks and pastas, and a collection of specials that change daily.
Central spot The Carlton is set in a prime downtown Pittsburgh location near cultural landmarks like Heinz Hall and the O’Reilly Theater. There’s even complimentary limousine service to many of those venues, and frequent wine dinners—about two to three per month—turn the restaurant itself into a destination.
Decades in the making The Carlton opened in 1984 and earned its first Award of Excellence in 1995. The wine list has steadily improved, reaching Best of Award of Excellence–status in 2015 and growing by about 200 selections since.
COPIA RESTAURANT & WINE GARDEN
An extensive wine list in the heart of St. Louis
1122 Washington Ave., St. Louis, Mo.
(314) 241-9463
www.copiastl.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 1,115
Inventory 9,850
Wine strengths Copia boasts one of the city’s largest Restaurant Award–winning wine lists, managed by wine director Cherie Moery-Metzka. The selections are organized by grape variety and cover regions around the world, from Hungary and Chile to a local Missouri label. California, France, Italy and Washington are the strongest sections.
Cuisine Guests can purchase bottles to go at $10 below the wine list prices or stay for a meal in the warm, high-ceilinged space. Chef Donald Butler adds Southern influence to steak-house staples, coating blackened ribeye in a rub of Creole spices and serving roast chicken with andouille sausage. There are also several seafood and vegetarian options.
Fixed flights To let guests explore the expansive list, Copia features nine variations of four-wine flights, each with a theme, like “Sweet and Sassy” (including a Moscato rosé and a Riesling) or “West Coast Tour.”
Versatile space In addition to Copia’s wine garden and dining room, there’s also a banquet room, two wine cellars and a tasting room. All areas can be booked for anything from large events with hundreds of guests to intimate tastings.
DOMACIN
A wine hub just outside the Twin Cities
102 S. Second St., Stillwater, Minn.
(651) 439-1352
www.domacinwinebar.com
Open for dinner, daily
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 900
Inventory 9,700
Wine strengths Overseen by wine director Ethan Gilmore, the program is strongest in California and Italy but offers a solid selection of Champagne and domestic labels.
Cuisine Locally grown produce meets Mediterranean influences—mostly French and Italian—on this one-page menu. Small plates include steak tartare and prosciutto flatbread, and entrées include seafood linguine and pan-roasted duck breast with orange jus.
Pick your pricepoint The wine list caters to a range of customers. You’ll find options across all budgets, from labels under $30 to prized verticals from producers like Gaja and Penfolds.
Special occasions in the cellar The cellar is available for booking private dinners for up to six guests. Domacin works with customers to create personalized dining experiences complete with off-menu options and expert wine guidance.
LOS OLIVOS WINE MERCHANT & CAFÉ
A comprehensive wine program with a regional focus
2879 Grand Ave., Los Olivos, Calif.
(805) 688-7265
www.winemerchantcafe.com
Open for lunch and dinner, daily
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 750
Inventory 3,000
Los Olivos landmark The café has been open since 1995 and is known for its appearance in the Academy Award–winning movie Sideways. Several ongoing programs include an annual dinner series spotlighting local winemakers, a wine club and overnight retreats in the on-site vineyard.
Wine strengths The inexpensive wine list focuses on California’s Central Coast. Wine director Sarah Farley showcases some of the wine region’s top labels across a range of budgets and rounds out the selections with international picks. Rotating flights offer 2-ounce pours of three wines, typically for $10 to $15.
Cuisine Chris Joslyn serves vegetable-forward California fare including plenty of salads, but you’ll also find heartier entrées like parmesan gnocchi and short ribs with potato confit.
As fresh as it gets In addition to sourcing from several farms within a 45-mile radius, the café has its own organic garden of produce and flowers. There’s also a small vineyard on the property that produces estate wines from Syrah, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. The labels are available in the restaurant’s market and through the online store.
THE STRING BEAN
Laid-back dining and a well-sourced bottle shop
106 N. Main St., Belmont, N.C.
(704) 825-3636
www.stringbeanmarket.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 730
Inventory 2,000
Personal touch The String Bean name is a nod to owner Chad Hutcheson’s childhood on a farm in northern Georgia, where his family canned their own vegetables from the garden. This upbringing instilled a love of food in Hutcheson that led to him open the String Bean with his wife in 2008.
Wine strengths Wine director Bryant Helton has been building his personal wine collection for more than 25 years, and he utilizes the relationships he’s built with wineries to bring a diverse collection of labels to the String Bean. The wine list is strongest in California, representing lesser-known producers as well as big names like Shafer, Silver Oak and Caymus.
Cuisine Chef Roscoe Goodwin serves an eclectic mix of dishes to pair with the wine selection, from small bites like garlic shrimp and duck-fat fries to pizzas and burgers to entrées like gnocchi with smoked meatballs.
Gourmet to go The on-site market and butcher shop sells a variety of seafood, meats, prepared foods and desserts. Guests can browse some of the 2,000-bottle inventory before ordering wine in the dining room or choosing a bottle to take home.
THE WINE GALLERY AT VILLA MACRI
Two family-owned concepts under one roof
225 Toscana Blvd., Granger, Ind.
(574) 968-0471
www.thewinegalleryatvillamacri.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 525
Inventory 3,600
From deli to wine destination Owners Jerry and Margy Macri ran a neighborhood deli for 10 years before relocating it to the Villa Macri space, where they added a retail shop and Italian restaurant. Now guests can opt for casual sandwiches in the deli or a more refined experience in one of several dining rooms.
Wine strengths California, Italy and France stand out on the affordable wine list. General manager and wine director Jason Forbes also offers labels from the neighboring state of Michigan.
Cuisine Chef Gerard Macri serves a diverse assortment of dishes that makes for exciting pairings. The menu is a mash-up of playful appetizers—think fried pickle chips and pretzels with cheese sauce—and Italian classics.
Wine-promoting programming The Wine Gallery hosts activities for wine lovers of all levels, from a Wine 101 class to a blind-tasting competition dubbed the Annual Cork Master Open. Additional events throughout the year include a tasting of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines.
THE WINESELLAR & BRASSERIE
Top-tier wine experiences at accessible prices
9550 Waples St., San Diego, Calif.
(858) 450-9557
www.winesellar.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Best of Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 1,055
Inventory 10,655
Wine strengths Built by owner and wine director Gary Parker, the list excels in California and France—especially Bordeaux and Burgundy—and features impressive Italian sections. Bottles in the retail shop are $10 less than the wine list price and guests can order customized wine baskets for gifting.
Cuisine Chef Gustavo Perez’s contemporary French menu uses California ingredients to create dishes like short rib with Sherry glaze, duck confit and salmon with parsnip purée. Guests can opt to let chef Perez take the reins with a five- or six–course tasting menu accompanied by wine pairings.
Dynamic destination The WineSellar’s wine service goes far beyond the dining room. Customers can rent temperature-controlled storage for their personal wine collections, and participants receive an array of perks like discounts on tastings and dinners. For those looking to gain a deeper education, the WineSellar offers an internationally recognized course.
Education abroad The WineSellar hosts an annual trip to major wine regions around the world, like this year’s trip to Santiago, Chile. Back in the restaurant, there are plenty of year-round events. The team frequently welcomes winemakers to speak and hosts dinners paired with selections from a certain producer, like a recent event spotlighting Daou. Regular walk-around tastings let guests try 15 to 20 wines at a reduced price, in addition to weekly tastings held every Wednesday in the downstairs bar.
CELLAR 59 WINE BAR & WINE SHOP
A wine haven in northern Ohio
3984 Kent Road, Stow, Ohio
(330) 688-2684
www.cellar59wine.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday
Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 430
Inventory 1,700
Rural feel Cellar 59 fully embraces the small-town charm of Stow, Ohio. It’s owned by husband-and-wife locals Vincenzo and Carrie Pezzaniti and set in a renovated 19th-century farmhouse with a wraparound porch for outdoor dining.
Wine strengths Vincenzo and his brother Maurizio, who grew up making wine with their Italian grandfather, oversee the wine program. California dominates the list, but it also excels in France, Italy, Oregon and Washington. Vincenzo recently began bulking up Bordeaux and Champagne selections as well.
Cuisine Small plates and pizzas are meant to be wine friendly and draw on the owner’s Italian heritage. Sharable cheese boards and desserts are also available.
Local leader Through both the wine list and the retail selection, the Pezzanitis strive to expose their community to high-quality wines that aren’t otherwise offered in the area. They feature small-production vineyards alongside benchmark producers at affordable prices—retail bottles are sold for $10 less than the wine list prices, which are mostly under $50. About 20 wines are available by the glass, or guests can build their own flight of three wines for $12.
SONOMA WINE BAR & RESTAURANT
Light bites and California wines
2720 Richmond Ave., Houston, Texas
(713) 526-9463
www.sonomahouston.com
Open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday
Award of Excellence
Wine list selections 150
Inventory 1,500
Wine strengths The California-focused wine program also excels in French labels, including top Champagne houses. Explore the list through three-wine flights that change with the seasons and cost around $20, depending on the particular pours.
Cuisine Chef Matt Tahaney works with local farms and purveyors to source ingredients for his small plates, sandwiches and pizzas. An extensive cheese and charcuterie section lets guests customize their own board of bites.
Democratized wines Value is a big priority for wine director Farrah Cauley, who prices most labels under $100 and serves 7-ounce by-the-glass pours instead of the standard 5 ounces. Bottles are sold at retail for 30 percent less than the prices on the wine list.
Houston Hub Sonoma Wine Bar & Restaurant makes a conscious effort to support the community, often donating cases of wine for fundraisers and sponsoring Little League teams. In 2012, the brand added a second location in the Houston Heights neighborhood, which holds an Award of Excellence for 150 wine selections and serves chef Tahaney’s signature menu.
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