“Restaurant Awards” by “Wine Spectator”: six Italian wine lists remain at the top of the ranking

Food and wine, an irresistible combination and almost a rule (although increasingly challenged by other beverages and changing consumption patterns, ed.), when it comes to fine dining. But for Italy, this is certainly no secret, given that its cuisine (awaiting UNESCO recognition), together with the great variety of wines it produces, has allowed Italy to conquer more and more palates around the world, so much so that we can say that there is no country in the world where Italian products are not loved. And if, thanks to their talent and expertise in promoting wine at the table, there are those who manage to stand out more than others thanks to complete and refined wine lists that meet requirements of value, depth, and variety, this ability is rewarded by the iconic US magazine Wine Spectator, which, since 1981, has been selecting the best wine lists in the world’s restaurants in its Restaurant Awards. And once again this year, there was no shortage of awards: in the 2025 edition, 3,811 restaurants were honored in one of three categories: “Award of Excellence” (with 2,010 winners), “Best of Award of Excellence” (with 1,704 winners), and “Grand Award” (with 97 winners), the latter being the most coveted and dedicated to establishments that “offer the highest level of wine service”. With 111 more names than the previous year, even if Italy does not appear among the three “newcomers” to the top award (with the Parisian restaurant “Le Bon Georges”, the restaurant “Selby’s” in Atherton, California, and “Soby’s” in Greenville, South Carolina), all six establishments that had already been awarded the “Grand Award” in previous editions were reconfirmed for Italy (as has been the case for years). Italy could not fail to feature among the winners in the top category, represented by the extensive and detailed wine cellar of the three-star Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence (awarded by Wine Spectator with the highest recognition since 1984), a masterpiece of investment and passion by Giorgio Pinchiorri, with the collaboration of Alessandro Tomberli, or that of the three-star La Pergola del Rome Cavalieri by Heinz Beck, curated, like the dining room, by chef sommelier Marco Reitano. Also shining brightly are the wine lists of the starred Ristorante Cracco in Milan, in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, whose wine selection is curated by sommelier Gianluca Sanso, as well as the star of La Ciau del Tornavento in Treiso (on the Wine Spectator list since 2013), by chef Maurilio Garola, which has more than 65,000 bottles from 450 producers for a total of 5,400 labels from around the world. Two other historically award-winning Italian wine “references” from Wine Spectator are also present: Antica Bottega del Vino in Verona, a must-visit destination for wine lovers thanks to its extraordinary selection, depth of vintages, and variety of labels, and owned for years by the Famiglie Storiche, big names in Amarone della Valpolicella, led by “host” Luca Nicolis (and awarded since 2004), and Il Poeta Contadino in Alberobello by Leonardo Marco, with 25,000 bottles and 3,300 labels, including the most important icons of Italian wine and the big names of Bordeaux (awarded since 1997). Including the six winners in the highest category, there are 58 Italian establishments awarded this year. In addition to confirming the two new entries from last year's edition in the “Best of Award of Excellence” category (with the restaurant “Cannavacciuolo Le Cattedrali”, inside Le Cattedrali Relais, 5-star luxury, in Asti by chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo and with the Osteria del Viandante, in Rubiera, with its sommelier Mauro Rizzi), this year eight names have been added to the list of winners: from Acquolina Ristorante, by chef Daniele Lippi, wine director Francesco Aldieri, and sommelier Valerio Erba, in Rome, to Gli Affreschi in Cortona, located inside the Monastero Di Cortona Hotel & Spa (5 stars) and with wine director Ivan Rizzo, sommelier Taziana Lai, and chef Michele Ricci, From Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, the restaurant of the world's most famous Italian chef in the setting of Piazza della Signoria in Florence, to La Sosta del Gusto in Pontassieve, with wine director Maurizio Tafani, sommelier Laura Casadei, and the guidance of owner Lorenzo Casadei, or from Ristorante LeBolle, housed in the Boutique Hotel Stresa overlooking Lake Maggiore, to Ristorante Salice Blu in Bellagio and its owner, chef, and wine director, Luigi Gandola; passing through Tomkat in Lucca, owned by Pier Giulio Alessandro Bendinelli & Leonardo Attilieni, and Enoteca Vino e Convivio, and Tuya Milano, with its wine director Tamas Mikula and his two sommeliers, Francesco Pagani and Daniele Mora, as the name suggests, from the Milanese capital.