The Wine Spectator has released the winners of the 2018 Restaurant Awards and three restaurants in north central Florida have been honored. Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.
The local restaurants highlighted are – Blue Water Bay, located at 319 Route 26 in Melrose; Shula’s Steakhouse, found in the Hilton University Avenue, 1714 SW 34th Street and Embers Wood Grill located at 3545 SW 34th Street, both in Gainesville.
The Restaurant Awards began in 1981, and there are three levels: the Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award. The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers. Best of Award of Excellence recipients offer more extensive selections with significant vintage depth and excellent breadth across multiple regions. This year, Shula’s and Embers were recognized with the Award of Excellence and Blue Water Bay received the Best of distinction.
This year, the Restaurant Awards program honors 3,759 dining destinations from all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 75 countries internationally.
