Crystal Lake’s 1776 restaurant awarded for ‘excellence’ in wine for 2nd consecutive year

With the large wine selection and the staff’s extensive wine knowledge, the Crystal Lake restaurant 1776 was awarded the 2024 “Best of Award of Excellence” by Wine Spectator Magazine.

More than 1,500 restaurants won in the worldwide category but 1776 is the only restaurant in McHenry County in the winning category. The award list is featured in the July issue of Wine Spectator Magazine.

This is the second time the 1776 Restaurant, located at 397 Virginia St., won this award by the magazine. Previously, the restaurant consistently won the “Award of Excellence” since 1995, which is a tier below the award it won this year.

The selection is always changing, but there are typically around 350 or more wine types in the collection, said wine and spirits director Erik Nordstrom.

“It is an honor to receive the Best of Award of Excellence for a second straight year,” Nordstrom said in a news release. “We are in an industry that is still struggling, and it has taken a lot of effort to keep our wine list among the best of the best. With 1776 being independently owned, it is often hard to compete with corporate backed restaurant groups. It feels great to be recognized by Wine Spectator as one of the top 25 wine lists in Illinois, and one of only four outside of Chicago. It gives me, and the entire team at 1776, the motivation to keep striving to provide great guest experiences, both in the glass and on the plate.”

1776 Restaurant features a farm-to-table menu of American eats and is reservation-recommended. Some of its most popular dishes are the gluten-free cheese curds and a mushroom soup.

“The restaurant industry is growing and thriving, with restaurant openings surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time,” Editor and Publisher of Wine Spectator Marvin R. Shanken said in the release. “To take advantage of the uptick, restaurateurs are re-investing in their wine programs. Restaurants that make wine a priority are what the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards program is all about.”