OWNER & WINE DIRECTOR, CLAUDIO VILLANI Claudio Villani was born and raised in Florence, Italy in the Tuscan Region. He earned a Professional Sommelier Diploma and worked for several years at Villa San Michele, a luxury hotel built in a former monastery designed by Michelangelo, and also at Relais San Felice, a Relais Chateau in Tuscan wine country. While vacationing in Italy in 2001, Mark Pastore, the owner of recently founded San Francisco restaurant Incanto, offered Claudio the founding Manager & Wine Director position. Photo: Kim Komenich/The Chronicle Michael Bauer in his first review of Incanto praised Claudio, "If you were to confine your eyes only to the wine list at Incanto, you'd think you were in one of the best restaurants in Italy... Claudio Villani, who moved to the Bay Area from Florence in March, obviously has an inside track to the great wines... When Villani is on the floor you don't need to worry about anything, whether you plan to spend $25 or $350 ". Other praises include a 3 star rating and Top 100 in the Bay Area.

Claudio was named the "Best Wine Director” by San Francisco Magazine in 2003 and Food & Wine Magazine stated "The most ambitious Italian wine list in the city compliments a menu of simple Italian dishes that emphasize pristine ingredients". Claudio studied for the Advanced & Diploma course from the WSET at Copia in Napa Valley with several Master of Wine, Peter Marks and Joel Butler. The next step was working as opening Wine Director for two time James Beard Award Winner Chef Paul Bartolotta at Wynn Las Vegas. Within the first year the Restaurant was James Beard nominated as the Best New Restaurant in America. Gourmet Magazine included Bartolotta in the best 50 (n.21) Restaurants in America The wine list was recognized by Wine Enthusiastic Magazine "Award of Ultimate Distinction" and Wine Spectator "Best of Award of Excellence". Before opening InoVino in Cole Valley, Claudio was the Sommelier at the highly regarded Michelin Star Restaurant Quince in San Francisco and the Wine Director at Perbacco in the Financial District.

The 36th Annual San Francisco International Wine Competition took place at the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco from June 9-12, 2016. 4,618 wines were blind tasted by over 50 of the wine industry’s top experts. The SFIWC is pleased to present the Top Awards from this year’s competition. The Tasting Panel Magazine Winery of the Year: J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines André Tchelistcheff Winemakers of the Year: Mike Crumly, VP of Production; Bob Iantosca, Executive Winemaker; and Steve Urberg, Winemaker from Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards Portfolio of the Year: Constellation Brands Other Top Awards include the following Best in Show awards: Best in Show Red • Best Pinot Noir Crū 2014 Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, USA Best In Show White • Best White Rhône Varietal McPherson Cellars 2015 Piquepoul Blanc, Timmons Ranch, Texas, USA Best in Show Sparkling • Best Blanc de Noir Gloria Ferrer Winery NV Blanc de Noirs, Carneros, Sonoma

Best in Show Dessert • Best Port Kopke 1957 Colheita Port, Porto DOC, Portugal For a complete list of top awards, including Best of Class awards, please click here. For the complete list of 2016 medal winners, please click here.buy french wine london The San Francisco International Wine Competitions congratulates all medal winners, especially the Double Gold and Top Award winners!best sweet california wine Please find our 2016 press release here.top red wine price in indiaNew York City has the world’s best wine lists: WFW New York City has the most top wine lists in the world according to a new ranking from the World of Fine Wine. London is second, San Francisco third, and Chicago fourth according to the British publication, which rolled out the annual awards for best wine lists for the first time this year.

Instead of taking the measure of a wine list’s length, the panel of experts looked at quality. Here’s how Neil Beckett, the magazine’s editor put it in a press release, “As we were judging, we had in mind the wise words of our fellow judge Francis Percival about the difference between ‘a great wine list and a mere list with great wines on it’.” More about the wine list judging methods can be found on the WFW site. It is not immediately clear if the restaurants had to pay a fee in the nomination process. And it’s not clear if value/markups played a role in the deliberations. In all, 224 restaurants achieved the top grade, a three-star rating. The list of New York’s 36 restaurants follows after the jump. Writing about the North American best wine list at Hearth, the judges said: “There are encyclopedic wine lists—–Bible-length books of the acknowledged greats of the vinous world. And then there are those lists that simply capture an individual personality, that express firmly held tastes and convictions and, in doing so, help define the zeitgeist.

Paul Grieco’s list at Hearth in Manhattan’s East Village is very much in the latter camp.” With 59 restaurants in the US winning three-star awards, it’s clear the judges think wine service in America has hit its stride. However, the best wine list in the world went to the Palais Coburg Residenz in Vienna. The wine programs on several airlines were also rated with ANA and Emirates achieving three stars. For the complete list of 750 restaurants rated at least one star, head to WFW. This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 at 3:45 pm and is filed under dining, New York City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.ONE OF SAN FRANCISCO’S BEST Rouge et Blanc consulted with Master Sommelier Emmanuel Kemiji to produce its extensive international wine list. Featuring over 60 selections (also available to purchase) from California, France, Spain, and Italy. Rouge et Blanc showcases the great values many of the world’s wine producing nations have to offer.