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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2008 > July > 22 > Entry
Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards have a familiar ring
Wine Spectator has released its 2008 Dining Guide, and the results, well, will come as no surprise.
There were no changes — no additions, no subtractions — from last year among Dayton-area restaurants. And Wine Spectator still insists on calling it a dining guide — actually, in the magazine, it is headlined “The Dining Guide” (emphasis mine) — even though the magazine makes no effort to evaluate the dining at the vast majority of the self-nominated restaurants it bestows awards on.
(Two years ago, when I wrote about Wine Spectator Restaurant awards, it triggered quite a response. I was called a tripe-monger, among other things, and even the magazine’s publisher, Marvin Shanken, waded into the swamp.)
Don’t get me wrong, the Miami Valley restaurants that paid the $250 application fee and were given the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence last year and again this year are deserving of recognition. They include:
— Carvers in Washington Twp. (yes, it’s owned by a parent company named Paragon, although that’s confusing in the Dayton market);
— Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar at The Greene in Beavercreek;
— Jag’s Steak & Seafood in West Chester.
— Jay’s Restaurant in Dayton’s Oregon Historical District;
— Mesh Restaurant in West Chester;
— Michael Anthony’s at the Inn at Versailles in Darke County;
— The Pine Club in Dayton.
I’ve got no argument with that list, although I have been terribly disappointed several years back when I chose a restaurant in the Carolinas based on its Wine Spectator award only to be shocked at how bad the food was there.
In its current issue, Wine Spectator publishes essentially the same disclaimer it ran last year, saying, “It’s important to note that our awards evaluate wine lists, not restaurants as a whole. While we assume that the level of food and service will be commensurate with the wine lists entered by award winners, this unfortunately is not always true. We cannot visit every award-winning restaurant (although all Grand Award winners and many others are inspected by Wine Spectator editors), so we encourage you to alert us to disparities and disappointments.”
Which I still translate into: “You suckers can do our job for us for free, while we laugh all the way to the bank.”
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Comments
By Bruce
July 23, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
Anyone who understands and appreciates good wine and food knows that the Wine Spectator ratings are subjective and occasionally misleading. Even so, the Wine Spectator is a great magazine for those of us who appreciate wine and want to learn more about wine. Also, the local restaurants listed that I have visited are for the most part really good!By nobi yuno
July 22, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
A Princeton professor wrote a short book a couple years ago called “On B.S.” where “B.S.” was spelled out in its full magisty. The point was that B.S. is even worse that a bald-faced lie, because liars know and care that they’re lying, while B.S.’ers don’t. Wine Spectator, apparently, has gotten out of the wine business and into the B.S. business. Unsubscribe.By Jeff
July 22, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this
The Wine Spectator is a joke. Evaluate wines? More accurately, they evaluate which wines have paid advertisements in thier magazine. “Wine Spectator” is an impressive name for an even more impressive scam.