Wine Spectator anoints 22 Utah restaurants with awards

This week sees Wine Spectator take the wraps off their 2025 Restaurant Awards, a recognition of restaurants whose “wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine, and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.” Twenty-two names in the Beehive scooped the prestigious award this year. Apparently, this year’s awards program recognizes 3,811 dining destinations across all 50 states as well as 80 countries internationally.

To qualify for an award, a wine list must present complete, accurate information, including vintages and appellations for all selections. Complete producer names and correct spellings are mandatory, and the overall presentation of the list is also considered. Lists that meet these requirements are judged for one of three awards.

In the first tier, the “Award of Excellence”, fifteen Utah restaurants secured the accolade as follows:

• 350 Main Brasserie, Park City
• BTG Wine Bar, SLC (pictured top)
• Cast & Cut, Deer Valley
• Cena Ristorante, Deer Valley
• Edge Steakhouse, Park City
• Fireside Dining, Deer Valley
• La Stellina, Deer Valley
• Log Haven, SLC
• Painted Pony, St George
• Ruth’s Chris, SLC
• STK, SLC
• Spencer’s, SLC
• Spotted Dog Cafe, Springdale
• The Tree Room, Sundance
• Urban Hill, SLC

Of the award, WS notes that, “These wine lists, which should 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.”

In the next category, the “Best of Award of Excellence” seven Utah names scored a win. Wine Spectator writes that, “These wine lists display excellent breadth across multiple winegrowing regions and/or significant 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.”

• Aeria, Snowbird
• Courchevel Bistro, Park City
• Glitretind Restaurant, Deer Valley
• RIME, Deer Valley
• Tupelo, Park City
• Veneto Ristorante Italiano, SLC
• Yuta

No Utah restaurant snagged a Grand Award, the highest honor the publication awards. That said, only 97 businesses globally managed to see the title bestowed; that century of names are heady company indeed, Michelin-three star businesses like Eleven Madison Square in NYC. For their part, Spectator states that, “These wine lists typically feature 1,000 or more selections, and deliver serious breadth of top producers, outstanding depth in mature vintages, a selection of large-format bottles, excellent harmony with the menu, and superior presentation. These restaurants offer the highest level of wine service.”

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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.