• Caruso's, the signature restaurant at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, has won the 2026 Wine Spectator Grand Award, the publication's highest honor for a restaurant wine program.

• Caruso's is one of only two restaurants worldwide added to the Grand Award list this year, joining a group of 99 restaurants recognized globally.

• The wine program, led by Director of Wine Rob Smits and Head Sommelier Alfie Wang, features more than 3,500 selections with a focus on Santa Barbara County producers.

• The award adds to a run of recognitions for the property, including a Michelin Star for Caruso's and a Forbes Travel Guide Triple Five-Star rating for Rosewood Miramar Beach.

Caruso's at Rosewood Miramar Beach has won the 2026 Wine Spectator Grand Award, the magazine's most selective recognition for a restaurant wine program. The Montecito restaurant is one of only two new additions to the Grand Award list this year, a group that now totals 99 restaurants worldwide.

Wine Spectator's Grand Award sits at the top of a three-tier system, above the Award of Excellence and Best of Award of Excellence. According to the release, recipients typically carry 1,000 or more selections, with judges weighing the depth of mature vintages, the presence of large-format bottles, the caliber of producers represented, and how well the list is matched to the kitchen's menu. Caruso's list runs well past that baseline, with more than 3,500 selections drawn from around the world.

The distinction of the program is where it chooses to go deep. Rather than treating Santa Barbara wine as a regional footnote to an international list, Caruso's built its Sense of Place pairing around five specific American Viticultural Areas within Santa Barbara County: Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Happy Canyon, and Ballard Canyon. Guests can move through dozens of bottles from each subregion at a range of price points, a structure designed to let a diner understand the county's terroir without leaving the table.

The list is overseen by Director of Wine Rob Smits alongside Head Sommelier Alfie Wang, with a stated emphasis on direct partnerships with nearby producers. "The Grand Award is the highest honor in our profession and recognizes what's possible when a wine program is built with equal parts ambition and authenticity," Smits said. "We have worked to create a collection that celebrates both iconic producers from around the world and the remarkable wines of Santa Barbara, offering guests a truly distinctive wine experience. This award reflects the passion and dedication of an incredible team, and we are deeply grateful to Rick Caruso, our leadership team, and everyone who contributed to this achievement."

The wine list is built to run alongside Caruso's seafood-driven Coastal California menu, which draws on the same regional sourcing philosophy. The restaurant sits on the property's oceanfront edge, above the Pacific on what Rosewood calls the American Riviera, with views that frame the Santa Ynez Mountains behind it.

The Grand Award lands on top of a growing list of honors for the restaurant and the resort around it. Caruso's holds a Michelin Star and was named a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Beverage Program, according to the release. Rosewood Miramar Beach itself carries a Forbes Travel Guide Triple Five-Star rating, a designation held by only 16 properties worldwide, a distinction the resort has now maintained for three consecutive years. The property has also picked up two Pinnacle Guide PINS, a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award Top 10 nomination for Best Hotel Bar honoring The Manor Bar, and recognition for AMA Sushi on the Michelin Guide California "New Discoveries" list in 2022 and 2024.

Sustainability runs through the wine and culinary program as well. Caruso's was the first restaurant in North America to earn three stars under the Sustainable Restaurant Association's Food Made Good Standard, and chef Massimo Falsini serves as an Ambassador for Project Zero's Coral Collective, an organization focused on coral reef preservation.

A Grand Award is not a marketing designation; it is Wine Spectator's ceiling, awarded to a shortlist that most working sommeliers spend a career trying to reach. For Caruso's to land there by building its identity around a specific American wine region, rather than defaulting to a broad international list, says something about where serious wine programs are headed: toward specificity, not scale. For RESIDENT readers planning a Santa Barbara County stay, it is also a signal that the pour in front of you was chosen with the same rigor as the room you are sitting in.