Definition: Wine Spectator Awards

A wine list that is eligible for one of the awards must be well-stocked and include information and recommendations. It must contain a selection of wine regions, appellations with several vintages, as well as wines served by the glass. Complete references for producers are essential. The overall appearance of the wine list in its presentation is also taken into consideration. Based on these basic requirements, the list is judged for one of the following three distinctions:

The first level of excellence award is called:
Award of Excellence (2007 - 3,131 winners)
The basic award, for wine lists that offer a well-established selection of quality producers, with a thematic assortment related to the menus, in well-defined price and wine style categories.

The second level is called:
Best of Award of Excellence (2007 - 748 winners)
This award of excellence is a second level that was created to give special recognition to restaurants that significantly exceed the requirements of the "Award of Excellence" category. The wine lists of these establishments offer a wider choice of vintages from an even broader selection of wine-producing regions.

The highest award:
Grand Award (2007 - 76 winners)
This highest level of distinction is awarded to restaurants that demonstrate an uncompromising and passionate devotion to the quality and presentation of their wine selection. These restaurants offer more than 1,500 wine selections (references). Among these references, the choice of elite producers is extensive, the range of mature vintages is vast, with a carefully selected choice of large format bottles.
The organisation of wine service from cellar to table, as well as the presentation of the wine list, are first-rate.
See the complete list of winners published each year in the 31 August issue of Wine Spectator.
This classification is not limited to wines, for which the number of references is specified for each establishment in the top two categories. You will also find information on price levels, type of cuisine, menu prices, value for money, corkage fees (the option to bring your own wine for a fixed fee), etc.
You can search for award winners by city worldwide on the Wine Spectator website.

Other information

Wine director/sommelier: in each restaurant, these are the people responsible for purchasing, managing the wine list and assisting customers in their choice of wines. (As staff turnover in the restaurant industry can be frequent, this information is subject to change and is revised annually in Wine Spectator, 31 August issue).

Importance of the wine list: determined by our panel of experts who assess the importance of the wine list and the wine regions represented. The wines are listed in descending order of price on the menu.

Wine selection: the experts take into account the number of selections on the restaurant's list at the time the assessment is made. For winners of the "Grand Award of Excellence", this information is followed by the total number of bottles in the cellar at the time of the inventory.

Wine prices: the experts assess all the prices of the wines offered on the list. They take into account the entire range of references and prices contained in the list, the number of high-priced wines, as well as the number of moderately priced wines. "Economical" wine lists offer many bottles priced under £50, as well as purchase price multipliers not exceeding 2 to 2.5.
"Moderate" lists use average multipliers with a selection of medium- and high-priced bottles. "High" lists use higher multipliers and a wide selection of bottles priced at £100 and above. The price factor is not a criterion for the experts' judgement, but rather an indication and a guide for readers.

Corkage fee: this is a much more common practice in the USA. Proposed by the restaurant, it is a flat fee charged on bottles brought in by customers to accompany their meal. In line with the overheads of the establishments, it is commonly $15 per 75 cl bottle (double for a magnum). The amount varies greatly. Some restaurants do not allow this practice, sometimes due to local regulations or state standards.
If you plan to bring your own wine to a restaurant, always call ahead to confirm their corkage policy.

Type of cuisine and menu prices: the restaurant provides a menu featuring clearly defined styles of cuisine. They indicate a price range for starters and main courses. The conditions for fixed-price menus are indicated, at least a price range.

It is important to note that our awards evaluate wine lists and not the restaurant as a whole. Although we recognise that the quality of the food and service will be commensurate with the wine list offered by the award winners, unfortunately this is not always the case. We cannot visit every award-winning restaurant, although all Grand Award winners and many others are inspected by Wine Spectator experts. For this reason, we encourage our readers to notify us of any discrepancies or disappointments. If you have any comments about your experience at one of our award-winning restaurants, please contact us at restaurantawards@mshanken.com.

Example for Switzerland: The only establishment classified as "Grand Award" (2008) is the Landgasthof et Vinothèque Farnsburg - Farnsburgweg 194 - CH-4466 Ormalingen, a charming establishment with rooms in the canton of Basel-Landschaft (Switzerland).