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is the highest award given by the magazine's annual
dinging guide which contains the listing of about 4000
restaurants around the world with outstanding lists.
Chef Thomas Keller's Laundry offers a wine
list with nearly 1,800 labels backed by an inventory
of 12,500 bottles. Bordeaux first-growth verticals focus
on the best vintages only, such as 1996, 1995, 1990,
1986, 1982 and 1961.
Burgundies on offer include several wines, each from
top producers such as Raveneau, Coche-Dury, Comtes Lafon,
Carillon, Leflaive, Roty, Jayer, Rouget and Domaine
de la Romanée-Conti.
The California Cabernet section has verticals of Phelps
Insignia dating to 1977 ($1,000), Beaulieu Vineyard
Georges de Latour to 1968 ($785), Bryant to 1992 ($2,100),
Colgin to 1992 (Herb Lamb Vineyard, $2,100) and Shafer
Hillside Select to 1987 ($575).
But the focus is more on recent vintages from wineries
such as Blankiet, Bond, Covenant, Hewitt, Paul Hobbs,
Hollywood & Vine, Hundred Acre, Igneous, Kapcsandy,
Kobalt, Merus, Ramey, Revana, Sirita, Sloan and Vine
Cliff, which are hard to find easily on most wine lists.
The joint winner, Palais Coburg is the restaurant
of a 35-suite luxury hotel in the center of Vienna.
It sits above a series of six wine cellars that store
more than 60,000 bottles, with 5,000 different labels.
Last year alone, wine worth more than $21 million was
added, doubling the inventory.
"It's a lot of walking around if you are looking
for just a bottle or two, but it's good exercise,"
said wine director Thomas Breitwieser.
Large-format first-growth Bordeaux and grand cru
Burgundy stand imposingly in the 30,000 bottle "French
cellar". It includes magnums of '45 Mouton and
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, and
an 18-liter bottle of '95 Cheval-Blanc. Another section
is dedicated totally to the luscious Sauternes of Château
d'Yquem, the hues of the wines cascading from the gold
of the young vintages to the amber of an 1811.
Restaurant Awards given annually by Wine Spectator
recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting
selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal
to a wide range of wine lovers. There are three levels
of awards:
The Award of Excellence is the magazine's basic award
for lists that offer a well-chosen selection of quality
producers. The Best of Award of Excellence is the second-tier
award, created to give special recognition to restaurants
that have lists displaying either vintage depth or excellent
breadth spread over several regions.
The Grand Award is given to restaurants that show an
uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of
their wine programs, typically offering 1,500 selections
or more from top producers and outstanding depth in
mature vintages, large-format bottles, excellent harmony
with the menu, and superior organization, presentation
and wine service.
Diva Restaurant of Delhi has already been a recipient
of the Award of Excellence. The full list of the restaurants
and their awards comes out next week and we hope to
fill you in, on the Indian winners.
Source: http://www.winespectator.com
If you are a wine lover and plan to be in California
or Vienna, plan a memorable evening and eat at these
two best restaurants in the world. But please be warned
and don't walk in unannounced. Reservation of up to
2 months in advance is required. You may get lucky though,
if there are some last minute cancellations. I wasn't,
when I wanted to eat at the French Laundry earlier this
year- editor
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