Two area restaurants win wine selection awards

Wine Spectator has awarded two Sanilac County restaurants with the Award of Excellence for their wine selections.

Emilio's Prime Steakhouse and Windjammer Bar and Grill were granted an award from the "Wine Spectator’s" 2023 Restaurant Awards. The magazine started the awards in 1981 and created three categories for recipients: The Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award.

The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants with wine lists featuring a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style.

Fadi Achour, general manager of Emilio's, said the staff is proud to receive the award, especially since the restaurant only officially opened on June 3.

"We had our wine program in place already and we sent them our information prior to opening," Achour said. "They were so impressed with our program they awarded us."

Emilio's Prime Steakhouse is located inside Lakeview Hills Country Club at 6560 Peck Road in Lexington Township.

Achour said the award will be displayed next to the restaurant's wine cabinet. This is the first award the restaurant has received.

"For a new restaurant to get an award like that, it's usually pretty rare," he said. "We just took a shot at it and sent them our information."

The application process for the award took about 60 days. Achour said the restaurant had to submit different criteria such as how much wine they offer, the different types of wine, how they store the wine and what kind of food they serve.

Achour said the award will help draw more people to the restaurant. He said wine and food pairings are important to diners, and the award shows diners the restaurant is serious about its wine and takes pride in its selection, wine storage and menu.

Achour said to be awarded so soon after opening shows that the restaurant is doing something right with its menu.

The Windjammer Bar and Grill is located at 7420 Huron Ave. in Lexington. Richard Laframboise, the owner of the Windjammer, said it feels good to win the award from "Wine Spectator."

"We took over the Windjammer in 2021, and one of our goals with it was to expand the wine program," he said.

The Windjammer has a selection of over 250 wines. The wine list is available on its website.

Laframboise said the restaurant spent a lot of time to curate its wine selection before applying for the award.

Laframboise said the restaurant staff feel proud to win this award. He said since taking over, the restaurant has been happy to expand the wine pallets and knowledge of the Lexington community.

"When we took over, we had wine consultants tell us that wine selections over 20 will not be popular in the Lexington area," he said. "We ignored them and it's showing to be popular. Wine sales have been up."

This is the first award the Windjammer has received since new management took over in 2021.

The Windjammer hosts wine events throughout the summer, as well as wine and dine events from September through December. More information on these events can be found on the Windjammer website and Facebook page.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannet.com or (810) 292-0122

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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Two Lexington restaurants honored with wine award