Earlier this month, we announced Wine Enthusiast’s List of America’s Top 100 Wine Restaurants, and now it’s time to shine our lights on Wine Spectator, as they have compiled their list for the 2013 Awards for Wine Excellence. We have a little peek for you of South Florida restaurants that made the list (you can also buy the August 31st issue – available now – of Wine Spectator to see it in entirety).
First of all, these awards are separated into 3 categories — The Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award (with the Grand Award being the highest). In order to receive an award, the wine list of each restaurant is critiqued and judges look for restaurants that offer a diverse & unique selection of wines that are well-presented and match the theme of the restaurant. For The Award of Excellence, restaurants typically have over 100 unique wines; for the Best of Award, it’s 400 or more and for the Grand Award, it’s typically 1,500 or more. Those who qualify for this top-tier award category are thoroughly assessed by the editors of The Wine Spectator for their cellar, service, cuisine and ambiance.
While we would love to tell you all of the winners, you’ll have to wait to read the magazine for that, as 3,793 restaurants received one of these awards. We will, though, reveal the Grand Award winners (there were only 73 winners of this award) and the Best of Award of Excellence in South Florida.
Fort Lauderdale – Palm Beach & Vicinity
- Arturo’s Restaurant, Boca Raton
- Cafe Boulud, Palm Beach
- Cafe L’Europe
- The Capital Grille, Fort Lauderdale
- Casa d’Angelo, Fort Lauderdale
- Fifth Avenue Grill, Delray Beach
- HMF, Palm Beach – a Grand Award Winner
- Hollywood Prime, Hollywood
- Marcello’s La Sirena, West Palm Beach
Miami & Vicinity
- Bourbon Steak, Aventura
- The Capital Grille, Miami
- Casa Juancho, Miami
- Casa Tua, Miami Beach
- The Forge, Miami Beach
- Gotham Steak, Miami Beach
- Ortanique, Coral Gables
- Red, The Steakhouse, Miami Beach
- The Restaurant (at The Setai), Miami Beach