Glassell Park’s Wife and the Somm earns Wine Spectator’s 2026 Award of Excellence, recognized for its 75+ bottle wine list and expansive Coravin by-the-glass program.
Neighborhood restaurants rarely get to call themselves a world-class wine destination. Wife and the Somm just earned the credential.
The Glassell Park spot has been named a recipient of Wine Spectator’s 2026 Award of Excellence, placing it among the world’s top wine-focused restaurants; a distinction built as much on Coravin technology as it is on a well-chosen bottle list.
What the Award Actually Requires
Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards, running since 1981, recognize restaurants across three tiers: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence, and Grand Award. This year, the publication recognized 2,083 Award of Excellence winners, 1,830 Best of Award of Excellence winners, and 99 Grand Award recipients worldwide.
To qualify for the Award of Excellence, a restaurant’s wine list needs at least 75 selections spanning quality producers, with a clear thematic connection between the wine program and the kitchen’s style and price point. Wife and the Somm’s list clears that bar with room to spare: more than 75 bottles from acclaimed producers worldwide, built around food-pairing intent rather than just breadth for its own sake.
The Coravin Angle Is A Real Advantage
What separates Wife and the Somm’s program from a standard restaurant wine list is its Coravin setup: a system that lets the restaurant pour highly allocated, premium bottles by the glass without pulling the cork, and therefore without spoiling what’s left in the bottle. That’s the mechanism behind what the restaurant calls one of the region’s most expansive Coravin programs, giving guests access to wines that would otherwise require committing to a full bottle at a steep price. It’s a meaningful shift from novelty to genuine access, the difference between reading a tasting note and actually tasting the wine.
Co-Owner Chris Lucchese on the Win
“Receiving Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence is an incredible honor
and a reflection of what we’ve worked to create every day at Wife and the Somm,
where exceptional cuisine and exceptional wines come together in a warm,
welcoming neighborhood setting,”
Christy Lucchese
Co-Owner and Sommelier
Wife and the Somm
“We believe great wine should be approachable, exciting, and meant to be shared.”
Lucchese runs the wine program alongside his wife and co-owner, Christy Lucchese, with Chef Frank Ryan Saporito leading a seasonal, market-driven kitchen built to match the list rather than sit beside it.
Where to Find It
Wife and the Somm is open for dinner Wednesday and Thursday from 5–10 PM, Friday and Saturday from 3–10 PM, and Sunday from 3–9 PM, with brunch Sunday from 11 AM–3 PM. Reservations and information are available at WifeandtheSomm.com or by phone at 323-739-0058.
FAQ
What award did Wife and the Somm win? Wife and the Somm received Wine Spectator’s 2026 Award of Excellence, one of three tiers in the publication’s annual Restaurant Awards program.
What does a restaurant need to qualify for Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence? A wine list of at least 75 selections from quality producers, with a clear thematic match between the wine program and the restaurant’s cuisine in both style and price.
What is Wife and the Somm’s Coravin program? Coravin technology allows the restaurant to pour highly allocated, premium wines by the glass without removing the cork, giving guests access to bottles they might not otherwise order by the glass.
Who owns Wife and the Somm? The restaurant is co-owned by Christy Lucchese, who oversees the wine program as sommelier, with Chef Frank Ryan Saporito leading the kitchen.
