The Michelin Guide Also Creates A Selection For Wines: The Grape Arrives

For over 125 years, it has been synonymous with excellence, while for those who work in the restaurant world, it represents the pursuit of a dream. After the Stars, introduced in 1926, and the Keys, presented in 2024 to recognise the world's best hotels, another innovation comes to the Michelin house: the Grape, the Guide's new distinction designed to highlight wineries in various regions around the world. Starting in 2026, the Guide will offer wine lovers a new reliable reference point, with the assignment of one, two or three grape/s, as well as a selection of recommended vineyards.

The Path That Led To The Grappe

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The path that led to the Grape stems from an attention to the wine that the Michelin Guide has been cultivating for some time. Already in 2004, the pictogram 'wine' was introduced to indicate the most interesting cards and the food-wine combinations of particular value. In 2019, with the Michelin Sommelier Award, the focus was then shifted to professionals capable of improving the guest experience, thanks to exemplary competence in the selection and service of wines. Today, with the Grape, the Guide expands its view even further and decides to highlight the wineries of different regions of the world, evaluating their overall excellence through five universal criteria, applied uniformly.

Even before the products, however, the award aims to enhance the women and men who give life to vineyards and cellars: “With this new distinction, the Guide intends to highlight unique stories and skills transmitted from generation to generation, but also innovative techniques and contemporary practices, using a rigorous and independent methodology,” reads the official statement.

How The New Award Will Work

Themethodology is based on five criteria: the quality of agronomy, which takes into account the state of soil health, the balance of the vines and the care of the vine; technical competence, linked to the mastery of wine processes; identity, understood as ability to express personality, sense of place and culture; balance, evaluated through the harmony between acidity, tannins, wood, alcohol and sugar; and finally consistency, verified through several vintages to ascertain quality even in the most complex years, rewarding those wines that reveal depth and excellence over time.

Once the presence of these criteria has been verified, the Clusters are assigned. Three Grapes, just as with the Three Stars, are reserved for exceptional producers, whose productions represent a safe reference point regardless of the vintage. Two Grapes, on the other hand, distinguishes wineries that are characterised by remarkable quality and consistency within their territory, while a Cluster is awarded to producers who make wines of character, particularly successful in the best years. Finally, in addition to these categories, there are selected producers, chosen for their reliability and consistent quality, able to offer well-made wines and an always satisfying experience.

At least in Italy, however, a Cluster classification already exists. Conferring it, from one to a maximum of five, is the Bibenda Guide, the annual publication of the Italian Sommelier Foundation, which since 1999 has evaluated and promoted the world of wine, extra virgin olive oil and grappa.

Where The First Bunches Will Be Awarded

The Michelin Grape will make its debut in two of the most emblematic regions of the world wine scene: Bordeaux and Burgundy. The entire Bordeaux region is internationally renowned for its ability to combine innovation and tradition and, with its great chateaux, has established itself over the centuries as one of the symbolic territories of wine, whose reputation goes far beyond French borders.

Burgundy, the land of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is instead characterised by an approach deeply rooted in local heritage. Its vineyards, often family-run and on a human scale, reflect a tradition made of rigour and attention at every stage of production. A legacy transmitted for centuries that has helped to shape the identity of the territory and to build its worldwide fame.

Read the original article on ELLE Italy.