Wine Spectator has unveiled its winners for the 2021 Restaurant Awards, which honor the country’s best restaurants for wine. This year, the program recognized almost 3,000 eateries, with New Jersey tallying 72 locations.
The authoritative wine publication presents three different award levels. To be eligible for the Award of Excellence, a restaurant must offer at least 90 selections of wine from an assortment of producers in a range of prices and styles. For the Best Award of Excellence, a restaurant must offer around 350 or more selections and display superior knowledge of wine-growing regions and top producers. The Grand Award, the highest honor, is given to restaurants that offer more than 1,000 selections in diverse categories and offer a level of wine service that fully harmonizes with the menu.
Across the globe, a total of only 97 restaurants received the Grand Award, and two of them are in the Garden State: The Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster (which has received the award since 2011) and Restaurant Latour, part of the Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg (a recipient since 2006).
I chatted with Susanne Wagner, wine director of the latter, about what it takes to earn the Grand Award.
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Table Hopping: How does it feel to win the Grand Award?
Susanne Wagner It’s as good as it gets! It’s almost like winning an Oscar for your wine. I feel so honored that I’m the keeper of this award. It’s a great responsibility, to have maintained the Grand Award as well as adding my own personal touch to the list while I’m in charge as wine director.
TH: As wine director, what does your job entail?
SW: A sommelier is more with the guest, making wine recommendations on the floor. As a wine director, you do more of the background work. I do inventory, I place orders for anything wine related. It’s not just Restaurant Latour—you look after all the outlets. We have four restaurants at the resort. I do staff training and wine education for our guests and classes. It’s a lot of research and background, and I work with the wine team to bring it all together.
TH: Restaurant Latour has received Wine Spectator’s Grand Award for 15 years now. What are the requirements for eligibility?
SW: In order to receive the Grand Award, you’re supposed to have more than 1,000 selections. We have over 3,000 selections. You also have to give accurate information to check the list for the overall layout, presentation, no spelling errors. You have to show a wide range, verticals of different wines, and not just the 750 milliliters. And you have to have interesting wines, not just the standard. Maybe wines from countries that are not that well known yet. You also have to have a restaurant along with all of that.
TH: What goes into researching wines to add to the list?
SW: The wine world is always changing. The moment you think you’ve tasted it all, something else pops up. I’m very lucky to work with different distributors that every week show me hundreds of wines in their portfolios. Once a week I meet with them, taste the wines and make a decision of which to buy. Sometimes I get recommendations from them and they tell me that this wine received a 100 point rating. I purchase those automatically because it’s a perfect score and always a good investment.
TH: Do guests ever request wines that are new to you?
SW: Oh, yes, absolutely. We have a lot of wine aficionados and diners who look for exciting experiences at Restaurant Latour. Sometimes I hear from guests that they visited a winery they enjoyed or they tell me to look into certain wines. I do my own research online and see what I can find out. I’ve made wine purchases based on guests’ input.
TH: In recent months, have you seen differences in the way people interact with you?
SW: People are more eager to interact. They want to get out of the house and just do something nice for themselves.
TH: What was it like in the early stages of the pandemic?
SW: Four months into the pandemic, our general manager said we should sell wine without the restaurant being open. We began offering wines at a discounted rate to whoever walks in: members, hotel guests, whoever. In one year we sold 3,500 bottles. We also started little wine tastings for our guests. We started with 10 guests at a time and have now expanded to 20. The tastings are offered Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The wine cellar at Restaurant Latour
TH: With over 3,000 options in your cellar, is there a region Restaurant Latour seems to favor?
SW: Our wine cellar is a little bit heavy on French wines; that’s what we like. That has a tradition because the founder of the resort loved red Bordeaux and white Burgundy. France makes world-class wines—there’s no doubt about it. Over the years we have added the highlights from Italy and California and other major regions. I think every major wine region in the world is represented on our list, which is really exciting.
TH: It’s like taking a trip around the world.
SW: That’s exactly what I say to my guests. With travel limited due to the pandemic, we can still travel! It really is a fun business to be in. Some jobs have to be serious, but the wine business is not like that. I get to taste wine, speak about it, educate people and sometimes spark an interest in someone who’s just starting with wine. It’s both rewarding and fun at the same time. I’m very lucky to be in this position.
Other Wine Spectator Award Winners in New Jersey
Grand Award
The Pluckemin Inn, 10 Pluckemin Way, Bedminster
Best Award of Excellence
Stage Left Steak, 5 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Elements, 66 Witherspoon St., Princeton
Berta’s Chateau, 7 Grove St., Wanaque
Knife and Fork Inn, 3600 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City
Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen, 110 South St., Morristown
New Winners (Award of Excellence)
Café Chameleon, 60 Main St., Bloomingdale
Deccan Spice, 153 Wood Ave., Edison
Dolce Mare, 500 Boardwalk, Atlantic City
Haven Riverfront Restaurant, 2 Main St., Edgewater
New Winners (Best Award of Excellence)
The Capital Grille, 10 Dryden Way, Parsippany
Inexpensive Wine Pricing & Award of Excellence
Rooney’s Oceanfront Restaurant, 100 Ocean Ave. N, Long Branch
Nero’s Grille, 618 S Livingston Ave., Livingston
Sorellina Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, 1036 Washington St., Hoboken
Son Cubano, 40-4 Riverwalk Pl., West New York
Inexpensive Wine Pricing & Best Award of Excellence
Windrift, 105 80th St., Avalon
See the full list of New Jersey “Wine Spectator” winners here.