Michelin Restaurant Guide : Michelin Wine Country Stars for 2012

The 2012 Michelin Guide to San Francisco and Wine Country restaurants was published at the end of October 2011, and there are very few changes in the star ratings for Napa and Sonoma wine country restaurants.

As in 2011, The French Laundry and the Restaurant at Meadowood continued to retain their coveted three-star rating in the 2012 edition of the Michelin Guide.  What makes this so impressive, is that these two Napa Valley restaurants are the only restaurants that Michelin has awarded three-stars to in the entire San Francisco area. 

In addition to the three stars awarded to the French Laundry and the Restaurant at Meadowood, other wine country restaurants also did quite well in the 2012 Michelin ratings.  Cyrus, located in Sonoma county, in the town of Healdsburg received two stars—and was one of only six restaurants in the entire Bay area that received that rating.

Michelin also awarded about 40 San Francisco Bay area restaurants one star, seven of which are in Napa Valley: Redd, Domaine Chandon, Auberge du Soleil, Solbar, Bouchon, La Toque and Terra.  These awards were not exactly earth shaking, as these same restaurants received one star ratings in 2011.  Michelin did not add a single new wine country restaurant to its star system in 2012. 

It has now been five years since the release of the first Michelin Guide back in 2006.  That release touched off a wave of controversy. Some felt that Michelin slighted the Bay Area since it awarded stars in 2006 to only 28 restaurants. However, others noted that the Michelin’s New York City Guide that year only awarded stars to 39 restaurants, and that New York has a far greater number of restaurants than San Francisco.

The Michelin Guide’s impact on San Francisco and Wine Country dining is limited when compared to its influence in Europe. Bay Area residents are extremely passionate about food and love their favorite restaurants. Moreover, hometown restaurant critics are extremely influential, and it is a reviewer such as Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle has a far greater impact on Bay Area dining habits than the anonymous inspectors that awarded the Michelin stars.

Additionally, the Zagat guide to Bay Area restaurants is also quite popular in San Francisco, and like Michelin, relies on a rating system to rank restaurants. Zagat’s ratings are a compilation of the tastes of actual diners (not professional critics) who contribute to the guide, and ultimately may be more reflective of popular taste and preference.  Moreover, Zagat’s influence is sure to increase in the coming years, following its purchase by Google in 2011.

However, if you are serious about food, you should at least consult the Michelin Red Guide in making your dining decisions. This is not to say the Guide is infallible or that its judgments are superior to those of other critics or to your own taste. However, what the Michelin guide does is establish a standard of excellence in dining that is extremely difficult to attain.

For a Complete List of Wine Country Michelin Restaurants with Phone Numbers, click here