June 29: With a steady drop of Awards from 18 in 2013 (including two nos. of Two Glasses by the Taj Group then), the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards has seen a dwindling participation from India with the number of Awards dropping from 7 in 2018, to 5 in 2019 and 3 in 2021, with only Le Cirque Signature at The Leela Mumbai, Le Cirque at the Leela Palace, New Delhi and The Table at Colaba, Mumbai getting a Single Glass each, writes Subhash Arora
Despite the Covid challenges, more than 2,900 restaurants have earned Restaurant Awards from Wine Spectator in 2021, announced yesterday. The Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are suitable for their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers. Winners represent all 50 states in the US States and 72 countries and territories (less than previous years).
The awards are given across three categories- Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award. To qualify for an award, the restaurant applying must send its wine list with complete and accurate information, including vintages and appellations of all selections. Complete names of the producers and correct spellings are mandatory. The overall presentation of the list is also a factor considered. Lists that meet these requirements are judged for one of the three awards.
Award of Excellence (Single Glass)
These wine lists, which offer at least 90 selections, feature a well-chosen assortment of quality wines, along with a proper match with the menu both in price and style. These lists deliver sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers. There have been 1673 winners this year, including 3 from India.
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Best of Award of Excellence (Two Glasses)
These wine lists display excellent breadth across multiple winegrowing regions and vertical depth of top producers, 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. There are 1141 restaurants in this list this year. Only the Taj group has won Awards in this category from India in the past.
Grand Award (Three Glasses)
The highest award is given to restaurants that show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine programs. These wine lists typically feature 1,000 or more selections, and deliver a serious breadth of top producers, outstanding depth in mature vintages, a selection of large-format bottles, excellent harmony with the menu and superior presentation. They also offer an outstanding level of wine service. It has been awarded to 97 restaurants this year. India has neither won nor can aspire to win an Award in this category, under the current wine drinking culture in India.
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Grand Awards won globally by 7 restaurants this year, have thus alluded India. Restaurants of the Taj Hotels group that had a clean sweep of ALL Awards in India in 2014, winning all 8 Awards including 2 ‘Best of Awards of Excellence’ for its Delhi Restaurants-Orient Express and Blue Ginger, is conspicuously missing in this year’s list also-the last time they had won an Award (and perhaps participated) was in 2017. The only plausible explanation could be that they have decided not to enter their Lists anymore, like Diva Restaurant. They had been a major force in all such Awards every year since delWine started following the List in 2007.
The Award lost a bit of its sheen after the 2008 scandal when a fictitious restaurant in Milan calling itself ‘Osteria L’Intrepido' was given a Single Glass-an ‘Award of excellence’ despite the wine list that featured a 1993 Amarone Classico Gioe S. Sofia, which the magazine once had earlier said, tasted like paint thinner and nail varnish. A wine critic, who entered the fictitious List from a non-existent restaurant, claimed that the Awards were merely a tool of making money from the gullible participants and advertisements. The so- called fiasco was reported in delWine.
Also Read : Clean Sweep by Taj for Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards
As mentioned then, getting these awards isn't like winning an Olympic medal. ‘In 2008, nearly 4,500 restaurants spent $250 each to apply for the Award. All but 319 reportedly won at least the Award of Excellence by the applicants who shelled out over a million dollars to Wine Spectator', as reported then by the Chicago Tribune.
The Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards have seen a dip in interest and numbers since 2013 when India had won 18 Awards. It had dropped to 5 in 2019 which was a drop from 7 in 2018. The current year’s 3 is also perhaps due to loss of appetite for the Awards because of Covid which has badly crushed the hospitality industry where survival has become the all-important factor.
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Congratulations to Le Cirque-both in Mumbai and Delhi and The Table in Mumbai for the Awards and keeping the name of India alive in the List of countries, which has also seen a drop this year. For a complete List of Award Winners globally, click Here
Subhash Arora
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