Special to Hawaii 24/7

Monettes Artisan Fish and Steak restaurant, located at the prestigious Mauna Kea Beach Resort, has received one of the world’s most prestigious awards for its outstanding and comprehensive wine list.

Wine Spectator magazine, the premier publication on wine, food and travel – read by wine and food aficionados world-wide – has presented its coveted “Best of Award of Excellence” honor to Monettes in “special recognition of a wine list that displays vintage depth and excellent breadth across several regions.”

Monettes is the only restaurant on the Big Island to be honored with the publication’s “Best of Award of Excellence” this year, and is one of just five restaurants in the state to be recognized with that award in 2010.

“We are thrilled and humbled to receive this award and to be in the company of some of the world’s most acclaimed restaurants,” said Scott Monette, co-owner with his brother Executive Chef Mark Monette.

“Presenting a well-balanced selection of wines – older vintages alongside new releases and venerable Old World wines together with exciting New World offerings – to our guests is something my family has been committed to for decades,” Chef Monette said.

And while Monettes Artisan Fish and Steak is celebrating just 18 months of operation in Hawaii, the Monette family has owned and managed the Flagstaff House in Boulder, CO, for nearly 40 years.

“We are extremely fortunate to have had our Wine Spectator ‘Grand Award of Excellence’ wine cellar at Flagstaff House accessible to us in building our wine program here at Monettes,” Scott Monette said. “The rare and older vintages in that collection, along with vertical selections from internationally acclaimed vineyards, allowed us to create a list with great depth that otherwise would have been extremely challenging, especially in the current economic environment.”

The “Grand Award of Excellence” is the magazine’s most treasured prize in the annual competition. Currently, fewer than 100 restaurants worldwide have been recipients of this “trophy.”

The Aug. 31 issue of Wine Spectator magazine will feature the 2010 Restaurant Wine List Award winners – a “roadmap for your wining and dining pleasure in… restaurants around the globe”, according to the magazine’s promotion of this popular annual issue.

The magazine is available online and in a full-color, large format, print edition.

The other four Hawaii awardees are: La Mer at the Halekulani Hotel, Honolulu; Castaway Cafe on Maui; Longhi’s at Wailea; and Longhi’s at Lahaina.

— Find out more:
www.winespectator.com
www.monetteshawaii.com