Leeuwin Estate named fourth best winery restaurant in the world
The wine, especially the chardonnay, is flowing down at Leeuwin Estate as staff celebrate scoring number four spot in the list of the 20 best winery restaurants in the world. Leeuwin Estate, internationally famous for its annual concert featuring artists such as Sting, K.D. Lang, Carole King and Tom Jones, was the only West Australian winery restaurant to feature in the list which was chosen from 67 wine producing countries around the world but was whittled down to 11 of the major ones such as Napa Valley, Tuscany and Rioja in Spain.
Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River has been named the fourth best winery restaurant in the world. Picture: Lincoln Baker
Penfolds iconic Magill Estate winery restaurant in Adelaide ranked number 12 and was the only other Australian one to make the list published in the New York online food and drink publication, The Daily Meal.
One hundred international wine and food experts nominated their choices after judging them over four categories: cuisine, wine, winery experience and style/decor and service.
To be included for consideration the winery had to have a full service but location was not a determining factor.
General manger of the family owned Margaret River winery, Justin Horgan, paid tribute to Dany Angove, who produces modern Australian food focusing on regional produce.
''He is an integral part of the success along with the whole broader team,'' he said. ''It doesn't get much better than waking up to an email like that.''
The news came hot on the heels of a blaze of publicity in Montreal, Canada, declaring the Leeuwin Estate chardonnays also among the top two in the world.
Montreal's daily paper, La Press declared Australian Chardonnays to be the best after 30 wines were tasted by four judges in the 3rd annual Le Jugement de Montréal, the high profile annual wine tasting loosely based on the reenactment of the famed 1976 Judgment of Paris wine tasting. Five Australian Chardonnays ranked in the top 10 wines tasted and Leeuwin Estate Art Series chardonnay was judged second after Penfolds Yattarna.
The world's number one winery restaurant is étoile at Domaine Chandon in Yountville California.
Source: News.com.au, 21 October 2013
