Ariccia Cucina Italiana earns Wine Spectator 'Best of Award of Excellence'

Published: July 07, 2020

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Ariccia Cucina Italiana has been honored for its outstanding wine program in Wine Spectator’s 2020 Restaurant Awards. The annual program, which recognizes restaurants around the world as the top destinations for wine lovers, successfully moved forward this year despite the effects of COVID-19.

“This year’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Award program celebrates restaurants’ resilience, dedication and bravery during these unprecedented times,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. “We hope that all of our award winners and the people who make them special will find their way through the crisis to once again welcome us through their doors. We look forward to raising a glass together and to new beginnings.”

The wine program within Ariccia Cucina Italiana is overseen by Adam Keeshan, executive assistant manager of food and beverage for The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

“We are honored that Ariccia Cucina Italiana has been recognized by Wine Spectator as having one of the best wine programs in the country,” said Hans van der Reijden, managing director of The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. “Adam and his team have worked tirelessly to grow and enhance our wine offerings. Not only is it a great opportunity to expose the world of wine to our Auburn community, but also an opportunity to showcase the wineries that support Auburn University and our hospitality management program. Winemakers across Northern California, Italy, Oregon, Argentina and Chile dedicate their time, knowledge and open their homes annually to our students. It’s one small way we can show our appreciation for the investment they make into our students by featuring their wines on our list.”

Ariccia has won the Best of Award of Excellence, given to restaurants that offer more extensive selections with significant vintage depth and excellent breadth across multiple regions.

Follow the Restaurant Awards on Twitter and Instagram by using hashtag #WSRestaurantAward, and at the newly refreshed, easy to use Winespectator.com, where all winners can be searched by location and sorted by factors including name, distance, award level, cuisine and pricing. Wine Spectator’s special Restaurant Awards issue—which features Chef José Andrés on the cover—becomes available to readers July 14. The unveiling of the 2020 award winners follows the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation’s contribution of $250,000 in April to World Central Kitchen, led by José Andrés. The donation helped support the charity’s mission of feeding those in need, a cause all the more urgent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator is the world’s leading authority on wine. Anchored by Wine Spectator magazine, a print publication that reaches 3 million readers worldwide, the brand also encompasses the Web’s most comprehensive wine site, WineSpectator.com, mobile platforms and a series of signature events. Wine Spectator examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wine’s role in contemporary culture and delivering expert reviews of more than 15,000 wines each year. Parent company M. Shanken Communications, Inc., also publishes Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Shanken’s Impact Newsletter.

About Ariccia Cucina Italiana

Ariccia Cucina Italiana and The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center are managed by Ithaka Hospitality Partners. For more information on Ariccia, click here

Ithaka Hospitality Partners is a hospitality management company, focused on all aspects of hotel management as well as special event and catering management. Ithaka consults properties to deliver strategic and tactical methods to achieve overall profitability, guest satisfaction and employee engagement. Additionally, Ithaka works with the hospitality management program at Auburn to educate students in the classroom by partnering with faculty in a variety of competencies within the program. For additional information, click here.

Submitted by: Katy Doss