Wine drinkers looking for outside validation have a new source for intel, if not debate.
Last week, Michelin – the tyre company-turned-global rater of restaurants – released its inaugural winery guide.
The Michelin Grape Selection began with one of the world’s most famous wine regions: Burgundy. But almost as soon as Michelin expanded into the millennia-old world of wine, its first ratings ran into trouble.
Shortly after Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux discovered it had been awarded one Michelin 'grape' – the entry-level distinction in Michelin’s three-tier ranking for wine estates – the Burgundy producer returned it.
“We do not know how the Domaine’s rating … could have been established,” the estate wrote on social media. “Since 2020, we have deliberately chosen not to submit our wines for press reviews or ratings.”
