Wine Spectator has released the list of winners of the 2022 Restaurant Awards, which honor outstanding eateries with extraordinary wine lists.

The awards are given on three levels: the Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award. This year, the program recognized 3,169 restaurants in the U.S. and more than 70 other countries, including 35 in the state of Wisconsin and 13 in Milwaukee. 

Best of Award of Excellence

Four Milwaukee restaurants were awarded the Best of Award of Excellence. This award is granted for venues offering a wine list of typically 350 or more quality selections with significant vintage depth or superior breadth in one or more major wine regions. Those restaurants include Bacchus, Carnevor, Lake Park Bistro and Story Hill BKC.

Wisconsin wide, winners also included the Immigrant Restaurant at the American Club (Kohler), L’ Etoile (Madison),  Lake Street Cafe (Elkhart Lake) and Muse at Sentry (Steven’s Point). 

Award of Excellence

Meanwhile 16 venues in Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs were honored with the Award of Excellence, which recognizes wine lists offering an interesting and diverse selection of wines that are well-presented and thematically match the restaurant's cuisine in both price and style.

1. Ash at the Iron Horse Hotel (Milwaukee)
2. Buttermint Finer Dining & Cocktails (Shorewood)
3. Eddie Martini’s (Wauwatosa)
4. Harbor House (Milwaukee
5. i.d. (Delafield)
6. Jake’s (Pewaukee)
7. Johnny Manhattan’s (Hubertus)
8. Lago Su Bella (Oconomowoc)
9. Mason Street Grill (Milwaukee)
10. Mr. B’s, A Bartolotta Steakhouse (Brookfield)
11. Mr. B’s, A Bartolotta Steakhouse (Mequon)
12. Palmer’s Steakhouse (Hartland)
13. Ristorante Bartolotta (Wauwatosa)
14. Sanford (Milwaukee)
15. The Capital Grille (Milwaukee)
16. Ward’s House of Prime (Milwaukee)

Other notable winners in the State of Wisconsin include Eno Vino Wine Bar & Bistro (Madison), Green Acres Restaurant (Sauk City), Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse (Eau Claire), Mary Kate’s Wine Bar (Eagle River), Opus at the Belfry House (Delavan), Rare Steakhouse (Madison), T.J.’s Highland Steakhouse (Oshkosh), The Bottle Room (Green Bay), The Walnut Room (Green Bay), Velvet Buffalo Modern Italian (Beloit) and Vino!Vino! Wine Bar (Bailey’s Harbor).

The Grand Award

The Grand Award represents the program's highest honor. Those in this elite group generally offer more than 1,000 selections, with superior breadth and depth in many of the world's classic wine-producing regions. No restaurants in the Midwest were Grand Award recipients. 

The complete list of award winners is featured in the Restaurant Awards issue of Wine Spectator, available on newsstands beginning July 12. 

In addition, all restaurants can be found in WineSpectator.com's Restaurant Search, which allows users to find information about wine selections, cuisine, prices, key staff and more.