Raise your glasses: Canadian wine lists top the table

Opus restaurant is one of four named in World of Fine Wine’s inaugural Best Wine List 2014

The prestigious UK-based wine publication has given a total of three Toronto restaurants the top rating of three stars, ahead of other leading cities including Berlin (2) and Vienna (2). Only 200 three star ratings have been awarded to restaurants globally.

The World of Fine Wine judging panel contained some of the world’s leading wine critics and masters of wine including: Andrew Jefford, Gerard Basset MW MS, Elin McCoy and Tom Stevenson. They helped to assess well over 4000 wine lists from restaurants around the world before coming up with the final 750 worth one, two, or three stars at a judging session held at Lutyens Restaurant in London. Only 224 wine lists were recognized in the top three-star category.

Canada’s three star winners were: Canoe, Harbour Sixty Steakhouse, Opus Restaurant on Prince Arthur and Banffshire Club. All are based in the city of Toronto, apart from Banffshire Club, which is located in Alberta.

Other restaurateurs honored with three stars for their wine lists included Gordon Ramsay for his eponymous London restaurant. On receiving the award, the delighted celebrity chef said: “It’s just fantastic news that the wine list at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has been recognised in this way. The entire team there work tirelessly to deliver the ultimate experience in wine, food and service for all to enjoy. I’m very proud of all of them.”

According to The World of Fine Wine’s editor Neil Beckett, the awards are in important development for the wine industry: “We hope that they offer a refreshing new approach and will be seen as the industry benchmark for many years to come. They are the first awards to acknowledge the importance of a good wine selection, as distinct from a massive compilation, in the modern dining experience all over the world. As we were judging, we had in mind the wise words of our fellow judge Francis Percival about the difference between ‘a great wine list and a mere list with great wines on it’.

“We were hugely impressed by the range of high-quality entries and had a pleasantly difficult time settling on our very deserving winners. We look forward to repeating the process next year and to the awards becoming an invaluable resource, not only for readers of The World of Fine Wine, but for wine lovers everywhere.”

Next year the World’s Best Wine Lists award ceremony will take place at a glamorous London location.