Wine Spectator honors Asheville, WNC restaurants for stellar wine programs

ASHEVILLE - Nine Asheville restaurants have defended their titles for premier wine collections in a global awards program.

On June 25, Wine Spectator, dubbed “the world’s leading authority on wine” and producer of Wine Spectator magazine, announced the winners of its prestigious 2024 Restaurant Awards, which celebrate restaurant wine service with winners named in three levels from across all 50 states and more than 75 countries.

This year, there were 2,150 recipients of the Award of Excellence, 1,531 for Best of Award of Excellence and 96 for the Grand Award.

“The restaurant industry is growing and thriving, with restaurant openings surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time. To take advantage of the uptick, restaurateurs are investing in their wine programs,” Editor and Publisher of Wine Spectator Marvin R. Shanken said in a news release.

“Restaurants that make wine a priority are what the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards program is all about. I’m pleased to congratulate all 3,777 restaurants for their dedication to wine and exemplary wine lists.”

Asheville restaurants receiving honors are Posana, The Dining Room at The Inn on Biltmore Estate, Red Stag Grill at Grand Bohemian Hotel, The Blackbird, The Corner Kitchen, Chestnut, Avenue M and Sunset Terrace and Vue 1913 at the Omni Grove Park Inn and Resort.

The Best of Award of Excellence is allocated to restaurants with wine lists that “display excellent breadth across multiple winegrowing regions and/or significant vertical depth of top producers, along with superior presentation.”

Posana has received the two-wine glass ranking and has each year since 2018.

The Award of Excellence is designated for restaurants with “at least 90 selections, feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style.”

The local restaurants to retain the one-wine glass ranking are The Dining Room at The Inn on Biltmore Estate (since 2006), The Blackbird (since 2018), Chestnut (since 2017), The Corner Kitchen (since 2019), Red Stag Grill (since 2023), Avenue M (since 2021), Sunset Terrace (since 2019) and Vue 1913 (since 2016).

"We are honored to be acknowledged once again by Wine Spectator. This award is a testament to our commitment to excellence in all aspects of hospitality as well as the passion and expertise of our talented team who continue to provide unparalleled quality to our culinary program. "We thank our loyal patrons for their continued support," Isabel Miller, spokesperson for the Omni Grove Park Inn said in an email.

Sister restaurants Chestnut and The Corner Kitchen have received the Award of Excellence since 2017 and 2019, respectively.

“Like our menu, our wine list is ever changing and evolving," co-owner Joe Scully said by email. "We work with distributors and even one local importer to create a wine list that reflects many styles and varieties of wines. We also have an extensive wine by the glass program and have a Coravin which allows our guests to sample some of the more expensive and rare wines by the glass.”

Other Western North Carolina restaurants to earn accolades are The Greystone Inn Restaurant in Toxaway with the Award of Excellence.

The Dining Room at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers and Ristorante Paoletti and Madison’s Restaurant & Wine Garden in Highlands received the second-tier honor, Best of Award of Excellence.

No area restaurants received the Grand Award, which is Wine Spectator’s highest honor, which typically goes to restaurants with 1,000 or more selections and “show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine programs.”

Read the full list at winespectator.com.

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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, WNC restaurants awarded for superior wine lists