BY Jason Emerson
Editor
The newest list of Wine Spectator magazine Restaurant Award winners for outstanding dedication to wine has been announced, and two Cazenovia restaurants have made the list.
Out of a three-tiered ranking system, The Lincklaen House received an Award of Excellence and The Brewster Inn received a Best of Award of Excellence.
The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers of at least 90 selections, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. This year, 2,335 restaurants achieved the Award of Excellence.
“We have won the Wine Spectator award consistently since around 2000,” said Lincklaen House owner Dan Kuper. “Over the years, Mary Margaret, myself and Charlie Morgan have worked closely with the wine distributors in the area to try and keep our list up to Wine Spectator’s standards. It involves an extensive inventory and variety of wines to meet their standards.”
The Best of Award of Excellence, granted to 1,168 restaurants in 2017, honors wine programs that take their commitment a step further; it recognizes lists that display excellent breadth across multiple regions and/or significant vertical depth of top wines, along with superior presentation. Typically offering 350 or more selections, these restaurants are destinations for serious wine lovers, showing a deep commitment to wine, both in the cellar and through their service team.
The Brewster Inn has received a Wine Spectator award every year since 1992, including the Best of Award of Excellence for the past nine consecutive years.
“We carry 14,000 bottles of wine and it takes lot of people to make that list work,” said Brewster Inn owner Richard Hubbard. “We get people from all over who come here, and if they are a wine geek, they’re in heaven.”
The complete list of winners is featured in Wine Spectator’s August issue, which hit newsstands July 18. All the restaurants can also be found at Restaurants.WineSpectator.com.
