Maryland Restaurants Among Wine Spectator 2020 Winners

MARYLAND — Wine Spectator magazine recently released its list of 2020 Restaurant Award winners, honoring the best in the industry. Honorees include those that have cultivated excellence in wine lists as well as those devoting extensive resources to creating outstanding wine programs.

This year, the awards honored 3,800 restaurants in 50 states and 80 countries and territories. Awards were given in three categories: Best of Award of Excellence, Award of Excellence and. Grand Award.

More than 30 restaurants in Maryland earned a nod from Wine Spectator.

Here are the Best Award of Excellence winners for 2020 from Maryland:

• Bas Rouge, Easton
• Bygone, Baltimore
• The Capital Grille, Baltimore and Chevy Chase
• Citron, Pikesville
• CuVino, Timonium
• Horizons Oceanfront Restaurant, Baltimore
• La Cuchara, Baltimore
• Lewnes' Steakhouse, Annapolis
• Magdalena, Baltimore
• The Oregon Grille, Hunt Valley
• The Smokehouse Restaurant at Antrim 1844, Taneytown
• Tagliata, Baltimore
• Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, National Harbor

Here are the Award of Excellence winners from Maryland:

• Citron, Pikesville
• Facci Ristorante, Ellicott City and Laurel
• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Baltimore
• Fogo de Chao, Baltimore and North Bethesda
• Gordon Ramsay Restaurant, Baltimore
• Grapes Wine Bar, Annapolis
• Jaleo, Bethesda
• Locavino, Silver Spring
• Manalù Italian Restaurant, Frederick
• Morton's the Steakhouse, Baltimore
• The Oceanaire, Baltimore
• Osteria Costa, National harbor
• The Prime Rib, Baltimore
• Rusty Scupper, Baltimore
• Ruth's Chris Steakhouse — Annapolis, Baltimore, Odenton, Pikesville
• Seasons 52, Columbia and North Bethesda
• The Vineyard Wine Bar, Havre de Grace
• Wilcom's Inn, Monrovia

The Grand Award is Wine Spectator’s most prestigious honor, given to the world’s most elite wine programs.

Candidates for the Grand Award are required to undergo a rigorous inspection by Wine Spectator judges; however, this year, travel restrictions and mandatory restaurant shutdowns made inspections impossible. As a result, the magazine named no new restaurants to the 2020 Grand Award list.

Read profiles of all 100 current Grand Award winners, which does not include any in Maryland. One is in Virginia, and another is in D.C.

The hospitality industry remains hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and is still working to get back on its feet. Abrupt closures, inconsistent reopenings, changes in public health guidance for operations and other state-mandated orders have pushed the industry to the brink.

Two months into the pandemic, 40 percent of America’s restaurants were shuttered and 8 million employees out of work — three times the job losses seen by any other industry, according to a Forbes report. While some restaurants began reopening in May and June, most featured only takeout, delivery or outdoor dining options due to local restrictions.

In June, the number of diners remained down more than 65 percent year over year, and the National Restaurant Association has projected an industry revenue shortfall of $240 billion for the year.

— By Megan VerHelst and Elizabeth Janney