Restaurants In California Make Elite Wine Enthusiast List

CALIFORNIA — Diners who want a truly fine glass or bottle of wine with their meal — we’re not judging! — don’t want to fly blind and take a chance on a disappointing pour. Wine Enthusiast magazine just published a useful guide that profiles the great wine restaurants in 38 states and Puerto Rico, including California.

The magazine compiles the list of the 100 best wine restaurants every year, looking for “eateries that incorporate wine in thoughtful and exciting ways.”

The restaurants aren’t arranged according to preference, as a ranking would be, and there’s no matrix for the number of bottles of wine on hand, prices or the types of food the restaurant serves.

“Instead,” Wine Enthusiast wrote, “it is a selection of restaurants where wine is shared and celebrated, and where, in our experiences, the selection, food, service and atmosphere are all exceptional.”

The 100 best wine restaurants are found in the following states and Puerto Rico: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

In California, 24 restaurants made the cut.

Addison at the Grand Del Mar, San Diego, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "I’m really enjoying the increased level of knowledge from our guests. I have noticed in the last few years that guests are much more comfortable with wine, the regions, and varieties. There have even been a handful of guests that have taken the certified sommelier course just for 'fun.' And the conversation has shifted from helping guests choose a wine that they might like to helping choose between vintages or vineyards from their preferred region." —Rafael Sanchez, Addison at the Grand Del Mar

Adega, San Jose, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "Guests are always looking for unique and distinct wine experiences. They ask for the most 'Portuguese authentic' wines we can suggest. It’s always an exciting event to watch someone experience an aged clay amphora red wine or a cement tank-aged white wine for the first time!"—Carlos Carreira,Adega

Angler, San Francisco, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "There are many things that are exciting for me in the world of wine. I’m very curious about some of the new wineries producing more clean styles of single vineyard Rioja and Albariño. I’m excited about the amazing new generation of winemakers in Saint Joseph and Côte Rôtie. The brilliance of the grower-producer Champagnes is really coming together now that they all have had a couple of decades to define their style. And always loving to find new domestic producers, and the development of the many vineyards in Oregon that are being farmed by Burgundian winemakers." —Mark Bright, Angler

Atelier Crenn, San Francisco , CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "Rosé Champagne—its time is now! The spotlight is beaming on still rosés and I’d love for some of the glow to shine onto rosé Champagne. We feature them front and center in our wine lists and often have two selections poured by the glass. From the rare Egly-Ouriet with its mind-blowing finesse, to the juicy intensity of Laurent-Perrier Rosé Réserve, all the way to the laser beam focus of Bérèche Campania Remensis." —Courtney Olson, Atelier Crenn

Aubergine, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "While our immediate demographic gravitates towards the classic wines of Burgundy, I see wine enthusiasts young and old asking for Swiss wines, wines of Sicily, Canary Islands, and the Jura…[and] White Bordeaux, Chenin Blanc and A.A Basenhorst’s Capertif are replacing rosé this summer." —John Kiely, Aubergine

Californios, San Francisco, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "People in our area are concerned with what they consume and where its coming from. I love to see the support of smaller local wineries that are friendly to the earth. And I’m loving Italian white wine right now, personally. I can’t get enough of Sardinian wines and lists like Francesca’s at Che Fico [chefico.com]. La Ciccia [laciccia.com] has my heart forever, that wine list is totally insane, its brilliant." —Charlotte Randolph, Californios

The Charter Oak, St. Helena, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "We are seeing guests in the restaurant increasingly ask about farming techniques, responsible business practices within the wineries, and aspects of wine brands that previously were not at the forefront of the consumer’s decision-making process. I am excited to see interest in the story behind each wine, and to provide guests with a holistic look at a wine brand." —David Kasper, The Charter Oak

Coi, San Francisco, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "I’m most excited about the push towards making better wine here in California. There’s tons of potential for vineyard optimization that we are just starting to dig into. Looking primarily at the diversification in AVAs, with West Sonoma coast AVA and the big push by the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association to delineate their terroir from others is really cool. Imagine what the AVA scene will look like in another 50 years. More soil analysis and climate mapping equals better wine." —Eric Fox, Coi

Compline Wine Bar and Restaurant, Napa, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "In the heart of America’s foremost wine region, we work really hard to provide context. We see a lot of local trade and tourists as our guests. Our goal is twofold: to provide a wealth of great local wines for tourists to enjoy, and to offer a list of wines of the world for those whose day jobs involve a lot of Cabernet pumpovers. We want people to find things to explore on our list and to have more comfortable choices." —Matt Stamp, Compline Wine Bar and Restaurant

Ember, Arroyo Grande, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "We are fortunate to have quite a few industry pioneers who’ve gotten established along the Central Coast and elevated the wine scene here over the years, who frequent the restaurant: John Alban, Bob Lindquist, Jim Clendenen and Kenneth Volk, just to name a few. And then we have the younger generation of winemakers who are doing really interesting things and continuing to raise the bar, and they all support each other—we see it when they come dine with us and not only pair their own wines with our food, but also pick some really fun imported international wines off our list. And they always share—winemakers are incredibly generous in that way!" —Brian Collins, Ember

The Lark, Santa Barbara, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "The heightened demand and trendiness of natural can lead to a lowering of the bar for ‘correct’ wines, so that some wines being sold and served just aren’t interesting and/or good. In some cases the ‘hipster paradox’ effect goes to work, where too many wines are expressing their ‘natural’ qualities but ultimately becoming uniform in their desire to be different, and not necessarily communicating a sense of place first, with some of those funkier elements rounding out the wine and giving it complexity. Ultimately, just like everything else, there are profound natural wines, and terrible ones." —W. Hayden Felice, The Lark

Mar’sel, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "Personally, I am very interested in how wineries are adjusting to climate change and what their long-term goals are here. I feel it provides insight into what winemakers are feeling as they walk the vineyards with all their experience in tow…I’m also finding that guests are becoming more aware and interested in organic, biodynamic and sustainable principles and are excited to learn more about this subject while enjoying a glass of wine." —Alicia Ajolo, Mar’sel

Maude, Los Angeles, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "Diners are realizing you don’t have to pay a lot of money to enjoy quality wine. They’re becoming ‘woke’ about wine, if you will. Don’t get me wrong, there are still people who are all about the label but I’m seeing snobbiness and a lack of fuss removed from wine and I love that. Wine is meant to be celebratory and intended to be drunk and that doesn’t require a lot of fanfare." —Andrey Tolmachyov, Maude

n/naka, Los Angeles, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "I am always excited about pairing food and beverages, and recently I’ve integrated some really interesting beer into our menu. Ginga Kogen is from Iwate prefecture in Japan, and it’s an unfiltered beer from a region that sees more snowfall than anywhere else in the country. I also love Kagua Blanc, which is made in Belgium but is a Japanese-style ale. For wine, I’ve always been a fan of Alsace’s drier styles, and they pair really well with Japanese food." —Jeffry Undiarto, n/naka

Passionfish, Pacific Grove, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "Customers actually want to drink domestic Syrah again! We’ve always been a fan of Syrah, in fact it’s the first page of our wine list. Talking a guest into trying a Syrah was another story, until recently. We are so fortunate to have some amazingly talented Syrah producers in California—Pax, Arnot Roberts, Jolie Laide, Enfield—and it’s been a real pleasure to introduce guests to our ‘friends’. Hopefully this trend is here to stay!" —Jannae Lizza,Passionfish

Pico, Los Alamos, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "What makes me most excited is what is happening in Santa Barbara County these days. Our wine region is producing some of the best wines that have ever been produced in California, from a plethora of winemaking talent that is not only pushing the boundaries in terms of creativity and new concepts, but working with some of the best fruit that our country has ever produced. Santa Barbara is a hot bed for talent, without the high prices or inflated egos associated with other winegrowing regions of the world." —Will Henry, Pico at the Los Alamos General Store

The Plumed Horse Restaurant, Saratoga, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "As we all know, restaurants and wine preferences are cyclical, and I think we are in a great place right now. In this day and age, it seems like rather than taking a stand, Sommeliers are open to all styles and regions of wine, without passing judgement or taking a vocal stand. To me, this has always been important, as we are talking about something that is subjective, and wines should be tailored to the various preferences of the consumer. I’ve also enjoyed watching the 'natural' or 'orange' wine movements. While they are wines that some may love and others hate, they are another option, and often pair beautifully with foods that are traditionally hard to pour with." —Jeffrey Perisho, The Plumed Horse Restaurant

Protégé, Palo Alto, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "I’m excited to see more focused wine lists in high-end restaurants. I don’t believe it’s necessary to carry thousands of wines in order to offer extraordinary wines. At Protégé we feature just 250 selections, making it more important for me to be very thoughtful about each wine and how it can improve our guest’s experience…I prefer to keep the Protégé wine list concise so that guests can get to what’s really important: sharing delicious food & wine with their family and friends!" —Dennis Kelly, Protégé

République, Los Angeles, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "A large list can sometimes feel intimidating to people. To make our program more accessible, we created a section called ‘Tuesday Night Wines.’ The concept is based around the fact that most nights, drinking Grand Cru or First Growth isn’t an option; those are special occasion wines and unfortunately not every night is a special occasion. So what do you drink on a Monday or Tuesday night? Everything we’ve selected is delicious and under $100 a bottle. And it’s been super exciting how much affordable, high quality wine is available. It’s what we end up drinking when we’re off the clock, and we love sharing them with our guests." —Sam Rethmeier, République

Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "More than ever, Angelenos are eager and willing to step out of their comfort zones. Not a day goes by that someone isn’t asking for orange wine or natural wines. Guests are open to trying bottles from lesser known regions and grape varieties they’ve never heard of. We’ve even poured wines from Lebanon and Mexico by the glass! It’s a very, very exciting time to be serving wine and drinking in Los Angeles." —Kathryn Coker, Rustic Canyon

Seventh and Dolores, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "We are especially excited to watch the CA wine industry evolve as it grows. Many producers are focusing on varietals that specifically are suited to their unique terroir as they plant new vineyards or change out older ones. The focus on terroir driven wines that showcase our wonderful wine regions and the varietals is a welcome change after focusing on planting vineyards based on the notion that they would make wines that would sell to the public." —Bob Kovacs, Seventh and Dolores

Tesse, Los Angeles, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "In regard to wine styles and regions, I try and tell all of our guests that you can’t really tie a region to a sense of style anymore. There are so many wineries throughout Europe now that make wine in a 'New World' way. So instead of discussing region, I usually discuss grape variety and show them different expressions of that grape varietal around the world, because it is just fascinating how different all of those expressions can be." —Jordan Ogron, Tesse

TORC, Napa, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "At TORC, we’re seeing our customers really responding well to comparative flight opportunities. For example, we offer a 'Bubble Baller'Champagne Flight of '09 Cristal, '06 Dom Perignon, Krug Grande Cuvée, and Ruinart Rosé. We also offer a Soter 'Origin' Flight of four Oregon AVA Pinot Noirs." —Cynthia O’Toole, Torc

Valette, Healdsburg, CA

Why Wine Experience loves it: "The wine program at Valette is inspired by the incredible history and diversity of the region that surrounds us. Here, you can explore classic varieties made by the pioneers whose dedication has made Northern California one of the most exciting winegrowing regions in the world, and you can also discover wines made in tiny batches by young winemakers who are experimenting with different grape varieties and unusual techniques. A Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is perfectly comfortable next to a skin-fermented Vermentino, for example. Because this is what we love about California." —Aaron Garzini, Valette

Read the complete list.