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June 28, 2024
Wine Spectator honors Charlotte restaurants
Here are the wine lists earning recognition on this year’s Restaurant Awards
The July issue of Wine Spectator magazine hits shelves next month, featuring its annual list of Restaurant Award recipients. This year, a number of Charlotte restaurants are featured, including first-year honorees MOA Korean BBQ & Bar and STK Charlotte. 16 restaurants in the city earned awards this year, a decline from last year. However, the number of Charlotte restaurants earning Best of Award of Excellence honors remains steady. Many of the city’s awards are clustered around Uptown, and are steakhouse concepts. The longest tenured award holder is Uptown’s Capital Grille, which has made the list since 1999.
Though the number of restaurants earning awards has declined over the past several years, it’s not an indication that Charlotte’s wine scene is struggling. As restaurant profit margins shrink, more and more restaurateurs have made the decision not to pay the nearly $600 application fee required to make the list. For award consideration, restaurants must submit their wine lists and application fee to the magazine. Wine Spectator staff first confirms the list includes accurate vintages and producer names, as well as correct spelling of offerings. From there, restaurants are considered for one of three awards.
The Award of Excellence highlights wine lists that “offer 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. Whether compact or extensive, focused or diverse, these lists deliver sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers,” according to the contest rules.
Restaurants that earn the Best of Award of Excellence generally serve more than 350 wine selections, and “display excellent breadth across multiple winegrowing regions and/or significant vertical depth of top producers, along with superior presentation.”
The Grand Award is given to around 100 restaurants nationwide. Charlotte is yet to earn a Grand Award.
See the full list of local winners below.
Best of Award of Excellence
MOA Korean BBQ & Bar, Uptown
Barcelona Wine Bar, South End
Counter-, West Charlotte
Peppervine, SouthPark
Del Frisco’s, SouthPark
Gallery Restaurant, Ballantyne
Award of Excellence
Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Uptown
Chima Steakhouse, Uptown
STK Charlotte, Uptown
Morton’s The Steakhouse, Uptown
McNinch House Restaurant, Uptown
Supperland, Plaza Midwood
The Goodyear House, NoDa
The Palm, SouthPark
Juniper Grill, Ballantyne
(Nearby honorees: The String Bean, Belmont; Barrister’s, Gastonia)