BROWNWOOD, TEXAS, USA, — Last month on worldoffinewine.com the winners of the World’s Best Wine Lists 2022 were announced. Since its inception in 2014, World’s Best Wine Lists finds and honors the best places in the world to drink wine. Those places are hugely varied. In the words of Francis Percival—who, as well as being The World of Fine Wine’s food editor and an ever-present member of the WBWL judging panel, was the host of the 2022 awards ceremony in London earlier this month—we want to “celebrate the establishments who help bring us expertly curated wine lists of all shapes and sizes.” The Turtle Enoteca is certainly one of the more remote and less known establishments amongst the winners. The Turtle Enoteca LTD. was declared The Best Value Wine List In The World. For a full list of the wine competition categories and winners click HERE.
As World of Fine Wine editor and chair of the WBWL judging panel Neil Beckett put it as he introduced the awards ceremony at London’s Glaziers Hall, “in another year that has seen so many more sad losses, it is all the more inspiring and uplifting to find how many establishments of all kinds have managed to adapt and to survive, and whose wine offerings—representing so much accumulated experience, expertise, promise, pleasure, and value—should help them, and all of us, look forward to better times.”
The Turtle Enoteca and Restaurant is situated in the city of Brownwood in the geographic center of Texas. Owned by the multi-faceted Mary Stanley and architect David Stanley. Great attention is dedicated to the excellent wine list which debuted in the World of Fine Wines best wine lists awards in 2017. Judges evaluated over 4,500 wine lists in 2016, and just over 800 wine lists were winners of a one, two, or three-star award. Claiming a two-star award in its first appearance and every year thereafter is evidence of The Turtle Enoteca’s high caliber. Judges commented that the wine list was “clever and consumer-friendly” and includes by-the-glass options that cover a variety of wine regions such as Austria (both red and white wines), Chianti, Rioja, Mendoza, and Australia. The range is notable, considering there are twenty by-the-glass pours for red and white wine. The Turtle Restaurant received a partnership award from the Rioja D.O.Ca in in 2014 in appreciation of promoting Rioja wines to their patrons which they love to do. The list is curated to reflect a high quality to price ratio. The remainder of the list follows a similar pattern with a primary interest in Italy, Spain, and South America. The Turtle tends to focus on lesser-known grapes and regions which are underappreciated by the public like the Canary Island for example. The list evolves along with tastes and available suppliers and of course menu demands.
Brownwoodnews.com caught up with Mary and asked her about winning the prestigious award:
“We were very shocked to get it, because you know times have been hard and I had been submitting my wine list to them for evaluation since we opened. And we would get two stars, which is really good, because the first year…there were 4000 submittals and they only give stars to about 800 and…three is the highest,” said Mary Stanley. “So I was always really pleased to get my two stars.”
“Then I get an email from them saying, ‘Would you come to the awards in London? You’ve been shortlisted,’ and I looked at the award list and I didn’t see us listed on there. And they said well its a category we haven’t announced yet,” said Stanley. “So I just blew it off. Then I get this congratulations, you’ve been awarded the best value wine list in the world ”
At the Turtle, they cherish delicious food and good conversation; their key ingredients to happiness. Woven into their ethos is a desire for good wines that echo its terroir to share with their guests. The Turtle Restaurant is known for its eclectic seasonally changing menu. Focused on flavor and fresh ingredients you may find hand made ramen with lion’s mane and jackfruit “crab cakes”, and pastas of all kinds are made in house. Appetizers cover a range of empanadas and potstickers and classic arancini which would make detective Montalbano proud. World heritage dishes include Piedmontese beef peppercorn steak, San Saba pecan crusted chicken breast with honey butter sauce, bulgogi with sushi rice cakes and the famous Oklahoma burger, from street food to old school classics.
Mary Stanley is more than the owner and wine buyer for both the Turtle Enoteca and Restaurant. She is the pasta maker, gelato artisan, and chocolatier for the Turtle Restaurant, Gelateria, and Enoteca.
