2 Ashburn Restaurants Among Wine Spectator's 2023 Award Winners

ASHBURN, VA —A pair of Ashburn restaurants received recognition on Wine Spectator's 2023 award list. The local facilities were honored for their expansive wine offerings.

Wine Spectator recently unveiled the 2023 Restaurant Awards winners, which honor the world's best restaurants for wines. This year's awards program recognized 3,500 dining destinations from all 50 states and in more than 70 countries worldwide.

In Virginia, 61 restaurants earned recognition. Since 1981, the Restaurant Awards have had three distinct levels: The "Award of Excellence," the "Best of Award of Excellence" and the "Grand Award."

In the Ashburn area, Pazzo Pomodoro earned the "Best of Award of Excellence." Meanwhile, Eddie Merlot's earned the "Award of Excellence."

Pazzo Pomodoro has assembled a selection of 560 different wines for their restaurant. Eddie Merlot's has curated 160 offerings.

The Award of Excellence is given to restaurants that carefully choose their wine lists to have 100 or more selections, containing both quality and diverse wines, according to the magazine. There were 2,001 Award of Excellence winners this year.

The Best of Award of Excellence is given to restaurants that "go the extra mile," with lists of 350 or more selections from top producers, with a wide variety of regions and vintage depths.

These restaurants might also carefully design the presentations of the list, train their staff to assist diners with the list and have curated wine dinners, according to Wine Spectator. Worldwide, 1,411 restaurants received the Best of Award of Excellence award.

Marvin Shanken is the editor and publisher of Wine Spectator.

"In a time of technological innovation, restaurants offer the human experience diners are hungry for—listening to their customers and offering personalized experience," Shanken said. “This annual issue celebrates the places where wine is at the top of that conversation. I’m pleased to congratulate all 3,505 restaurants for their dedication to wine and wine-loving diners."

Find more info on all 2023 Restaurant Award Winners from Wine Spectator.