Just in Time for the Holidays – The World’s 50 Best Bars for 2022 Announcement

The World’s 50 Best Bars 2022 (sponsored by Perrier) was announced a few weeks ago at a live awards ceremony in Barcelona.

The list is compiled by votes from The World’s 50 Best Bars Academy, which includes 650 drinks experts, including bartenders and industry consultants, drinks writers and international cocktail specialists.

Barcelona, home to “Paradiso” is the newly crowned world’s best bar! For the first time since 2009, a bar outside of New York or London earned the No. 1 spot on the list. It’s a Mediterranean-style speakeasy, where you enter through a freezer door of a pastrami bar in Barcelona’s trendy El Born district. “It’s a big honor to win and a big responsibility. We will work hard to live up to being the best and stick to our principles. Our cocktails try to push creativity,” Giannotti told 50 Best on Tuesday evening state owners Giacomo Giannotti and Margarita Sader. “But it comes down to hard work. The more you work, the more you discover and the more creative you can be. We will celebrate and then go back to the bar to do what we do.”

Italy also made a strong showing in 2022’s top 50, with bars in Rome, Florence, Milan and Naples. Florence also made its first appearance as well as Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon.

London was toppled from the top spot; the city is still one of the world’s premier cocktail destinations. Five London bars made the list, including The Connaught Bar, which dropped from its No. 1 ranking for two consecutive years, to No. 8 in 2022. London’s Tayēr + Elementary, which awards ceremony host Mark Sansom said is “one of the most original bars on the planet,” held onto its No. 2 spot from 2021.

New York City was the city with the most highly ranked bars on the 2022 list with six top 50 bars, including Double Chicken Please at No. 6 and Katana Kitten at No. 9.

Double Chicken Please won the Highest New Entry award for its strong debut. Sansom, who is content director of The World’s 50 Best Bars, told CNN Travel the bar has “an almost Michelin-grade kitchen,” one example of a growing emphasis on food programs at the world’s leading bars.

Here is a List of the top 25 World’s Best Bars for 2022

  1. Paradiso, Barcelona (Winner: Best Bar in Europe)
  2. Tayēr + Elementary, London
  3. Sips, Barcelona (Winner: Highest Climber)
  4. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City (Winner: Best Bar in North America, Legend of the List)
  5. Little Red Door, Paris (Winner: Sustainable Bar Award)
  6. Double Chicken Please, New York (Winner: Highest New Entry)
  7. Two Schmucks, Barcelona
  8. The Connaught Bar, London
  9. Katana Kitten, New York
  10. Alquímico, Cartegena (Winner: Best Bar in South America)
  11. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
  12. Jigger & Pony, Singapore (Winner: Best Bar in Asia)
  13. Hanky-Panky, Mexico City (Winner: Art of Hospitality)
  14. Bangkok Social Club, Bangkok (Winner: Best New Opening)
  15. Salmon Guru, Madrid
  16. Drink Kong, Rome
  17. Coa, Hong Kong
  18. Florería Atlántico, Buenos Aires
  19. The Clumsies, Athens
  20. Baba au Rum, Athens
  21. Cafe La Trova, Miami
  22. Attaboy, New York
  23. Satan’s Whiskers, London
  24. Tropic City, Bangkok
  25. Kumiko, Chicago

The full list of the top 50 can be found here:  https://www.worlds50bestbars.com/

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Californian Vintners Report “High Quality” for the 2022 Harvest

The California Vintners Report came out this week and described this year as “a tale of two harvests”, with the heatwave in the week around Labor Day dividing the season into earlier and later picks. . Besides some of the “curve balls” one winemaker states the quality was “off the charts”

The summer growing season was ideal on the North Coast, the report said, until the late August heatwave accelerated the harvest and reduced yields in many places. Mendocino, however, saw yields up in 2019, because of the cool spring and milder-than-normal temperatures, even though the extended heat wave and limited water resources for irrigation proved challenging during the harvest.

Meanwhile, Lodi and the Sierra Foothills saw some late frost after a mild spring “dramatically” reduced the size of the crop.

There was good news from Napa Valley, which recorded excellent quality. More than 20 inches of rain fell in October and December 2021, bucking the years of drought seen across the region, which was followed by dry conditions from January until March. The Spring was mild and cool, but the Labor Day heatwave sent temperatures soaring into triple digits – up t0 110 -118 degrees in some places – for nearly a week, although cools nights helped to temper this and allows the vines to recharge.

This caused ripening to accelerate throughout the valley, and picking began earlier-than-average for many varieties, although growers had to use multiple techniques to help vines ride out the heat, where unripe grapes had been left to hang. There was some dehydration though, resulting in lower yields but greater concentration and flavor intensity, the report said.

Nate Weis, vice president of winegrowing at Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars in the Napa Valley said 2022 was likely to be “a pretty intense vintage — concentrated and powerful”, with particularly Pinot Noir from the Russian River, Anderson Valley and Santa Lucia Highlands, and good Merlot and Cabernet Franc. “The quality,” he said, “is off the charts.”

Duckhorn Vineyards’s vice president of winemaking Renée Ary noted the estate’s Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were “some of the best ever and the Chardonnays are bright, balanced and focused”, she said.

“Given the range of ripeness, blending will be important for the 2022 vintage as we balance our early and later picks.”

Meanwhile, in Sonoma County, limited rainfall, early season frost, warm spring and an early summer proved to have no ill effects, although some yields were lighter than average. However, the report noted that “fruit quality thus far is stunning and the overall smaller berry and cluster sizes point to a stellar 2022 vintage… [with] vintners… reporting wonderful concentration and flavor in the wines.”

Lisa Amaroli, director of winemaking at Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County said it was “one for the record books”.

It comes as California’s Wine Institute has begun a new push to increase Californian wine exports – part of its ten-year strategy to grow US wine export sales to more than $2.5 billion by 2030.

View the full 2022 California Harvest Report, including regional reports from Amador County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Lake County, Livermore Valley, Lodi, Mendocino County, Monterey County, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, Santa Clara Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains and Sonoma County: https://wineinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Wine_Institute_2022_Harvest_Report.pdf

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Five Masters of Wine inducted at the IMW awards ceremony

The Institute of Masters of Wine has officially welcomed five new Masters of Wine to its membership at an awards ceremony in London on November 1st, 2022.

The five new MWs inaugurated at Vintners’ Hall were, from the 2020 vintage, Pasi Ketolainen MW (Finland), from the 2021 vintage, Michael Henley MW (New Zealand) and Sophie Parker-Thomson MW (New Zealand), and from the 2022 vintage, Justin Martindale MW (UK – Scotland) and Jonny Orton MW (UK – England).

Individual awards were given to Justin and Jonny, the 2022 MWs, for exceptional performance in a particular area of the MW exam. Jonny received the Villa Maria Award for his outstanding knowledge and understanding of viticulture and the Robert Mondavi Winery award for his performance across all the theory papers. For his exceptional tasting ability, Justin received the Madame Bollinger Medal, and the Quinta do Noval award for the best research paper, the evolving language of minerality in wine tasting: a case study of Decanter tasting notes 1976-2019. Research papers can be downloaded from the IMW website here.

The ceremony also honored members who had reached their 50th and 60th year as MWs. Robin Crameri MW, Julian Falk MW and James John MW passed the exam in 1972, and Ian Bamford MW, John Brownsdon MW and David Peppercorn in 1962.

There are currently 415 Masters of Wine based in 30 different countries.

#wine #wineeducation #winenews #winelovers #wineeducation #wineawards #MastersofWine #MastersofWineAwards #womeninwine

“Monopoly Napa Valley Edition” unveiled this week

The World’s Most Popular Game Monopoly now has a Napa Valley Inspired edition Featuring Napa Cellars Winery, among other local businesses and Landmarks. Top Trumps, the American division of Winning Moves International (creators of classic games and puzzles) this week released “MONOPOLY Napa Valley Edition” under license from Hasbro.

This version of the game replaces famous Atlantic City squares (from Boardwalk to Park Place) with representations of much-loved Napa Valley cultural sites, historic landmarks, and time-honored businesses, alongside customized Community Chest and Chance playing cards to ensure each detail of the game pays homage to the iconic wine region destination.

Napa Valley is well known for its iconic wineries, Michelin-starred restaurants and stunning views from the valley to the Mayacamas mountains.

Napa Cellars, an Oakville tasting room and winery deeply rooted in the heart of Napa Valley for nearly 50 years, is one of the properties featured on the board. Beyond its square between “Free Parking” and “Chance” spaces on the Napa Valley edition of the iconic MONOPOLY board, the winery can be found on a Chance playing card, which reads “The sun is shining, and Napa Cellars is calling. Make a reservation for a picnic amongst the vines. Pay 150.” Napa Cellars can also be found on a Community Chest playing card, which reads: “Napa Cellars consulted you to craft the next vintage. Collect 200.”  Other wineries featured include Beringer Vineyards, Sterling Vineyards, Frank Family Vineyards, and Hall Wines.

 

“We’re thrilled to launch MONOPOLY Napa Valley Edition in time for the holidays and to celebrate one of the most beloved, culturally rich and geographically beautiful wine regions in the world. We’ve spent months creating a portrayal of the area’s dynamic communities that we hope locals and visitors alike will enjoy for years to come,” says Jennifer Tripsea, a representative from Top Trumps USA. “We’ve incorporated important feedback from locals to truly make this a fun and engaging game for Napa Valley residents and beyond.”

The Monopoly Napa Valley Edition is available for $39.95 USD on Amazon, CVS and www.toptrumps.us. The game is also for sale in several local retailers, including Napa Cellars’ Oakville tasting room along historic Highway 29.

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The Science Behind Nonalcoholic Wine – Smithsonian Magazine

Here is an interesting read from Smithsonian Magazine ….drinking habits are changing, and vintners are exceeding tasters’ expectations with new options stripped of their alcohol.

Market Research Firm Fact. MR estimated that global nonalcoholic wine sales reached $1.6 billion in 2021 and will double in the next decade.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-science-behind-nonalcoholic-wine-180980805/

#wine #winelovers #vitners #nonalcoholic #alcoholfree #drinks #sober #drinkstagram #science #Smithsonianmagazine #nonalcoholicwine #winetrade #winemarketing #winesales #winetrends