Annual Program, Which Recognizes the World’s Best Wine Lists, This Year Pays Tribute to Resilience of Restaurant Industry Amid Global Pandemic
New York, NY (June 29, 2020)—Wine Spectator, the world’s leading authority on wine, has unveiled the winners of its 2020 Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurants for wine. This year’s awards program—which successfully moved forward despite the effects of COVID-19—recognizes 3,776 dining destinations from all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 79 countries internationally.
“This year’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Award program celebrates restaurants’ resilience, dedication and bravery during these unprecedented times,” said Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher, Wine Spectator. “We hope that all of our award winners and the people who make them special will find their way through the crisis to once again welcome us through their doors. We look forward to raising a glass together, and to new beginnings.”
Launched in 1981, the Restaurant Awards are judged on three levels: the Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award—with 2,289; 1,387; and 100 winners this year in each respective category.
DISCOVERING THE 2020 DINING GUIDE
Follow the Restaurant Awards on Twitter and Instagram, with hashtag #WSRestaurantAward, and at the newly refreshed, user friendly WineSpectator.com/
STRAIGHT TALK: A NEW INSTAGRAM LIVE SERIES
This summer, restaurateurs, chefs and sommeliers from Award-winning restaurants will be featured on Straight Talk with Wine Spectator, a new Instagram Live series every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm ET featuring candid conversations with wine-and-food newsmakers. Get insights from industry leaders including Jose Andres, Emeril Lagasse, Danny Meyer and Charlie Palmer.
WINE SPECTATOR SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION SUPPORTS WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN
The unveiling of the 2020 award winners follows up on the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation’s contribution of $250,000 in April to World Central Kitchen, led by Andrés. The donation helped support the charity’s mission of feeding those in need, a cause all the more urgent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
AWARD LEVEL BREAKDOWN
The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers. Best of Award of Excellence recipients offer more extensive selections with significant vintage depth and excellent breadth across multiple regions. The Grand Award is the program’s highest honor; this elite group comprises the world’s best wine programs, which deliver serious breadth of top producers, outstanding depth in mature vantages, excellent harmony with the menu and superior presentation.
About Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is the world’s leading authority on wine. Anchored by Wine Spectator magazine, a print publication that reaches around 3 million readers worldwide, the brand also encompasses the Web’s most comprehensive wine site (WineSpectator.com), mobile platforms and a series of signature events. Wine Spectator examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wine’s role in contemporary culture and delivering expert reviews of more than 15,000 wines each year. Parent company M. Shanken Communications, Inc., also publishes Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Shanken’s Impact Newsletter.
