Ask Matt Coover about wine and he’ll say it’s near and dear to his heart.
As a level one sommelier and the general manager of Sullivan’s Steakhouse in downtown Naperville, he takes great care in finding what flavors pair well with what dishes and curating a list of pours that will satisfy whatever spirit guests are in the mood for.
No wonder his work is being recognized.
Sullivan’s Steakhouse is one of the world’s best restaurants for wine, according to the lifestyle magazine Wine Spectator. Each year, the magazine releases an international list of restaurants that offer the crème de la crème in wine programs. For 2024, Sullivan’s, as well as three other Naperville restaurants, made the cut.
Coover says the honor is humbling.
“It validates the fact that I’m going in the right direction,” he said. “If Wine Spectator feels that we have a list that meets their approval, then that reassures me that our guests are going to love it.”
Wine Spectator, which lauds itself as “the world’s leading authority on wine,” has been doling out annual awards to restaurants for the caliber of their wine selections since 1981.
This year, 3,777 restaurants from around the world earned a nod from the magazine. Accolades included one of three distinctions: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award.
Sullivan’s received an Award of Excellence. According to Wine Spectator, this distinction is given to establishments whose wine choices contain “both quality and a diverse selection that is compatible with the restaurant’s style and menu.” Restaurants in this category supply lists that “deliver sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers,” Wine Spectator says of its award levels.
Alongside Sullivan’s, three other Naperville restaurants earned an Award of Excellence this year. They are: Fogo de Chão at 1824 Abriter Court, Morton’s Steakhouse at 1751 Freedom Drive and Che Figata at 2155 City Gate Lane.
Coover said that he’s been working towards earning this honor from Wine Spectator for years.
“Wine Spectator has a very, very high standard,” he said. The magazine lays out “a lot of rules” to qualify for an award and that while he put his best foot forward, he didn’t think he’d make it, he said.
He was surprised to find Sullivan’s among the 2024 winners but once the news sunk in, “it was definitely fulfilling,” he said.
Coover has spent a decade with Sullivan’s, which has 14 locations across the country in additon to Naperville. He said that wine is “a very large piece of what we do here.”
Including Naperville’s winners, Wine Spectator honored more than 90 establishments across Illinois with restaurant awards this year. Of those, 65 took home an Award of Excellence and 26 received a Best of Award of Excellence.
The latter is given to restaurants that take their commitment to wine a step further, Wine Spectator says. These winners are those that the magazine deems “destinations for serious wine lovers.”
Wine Spectator’s highest honor is the Grand Award. Some 64 restaurants across the United States received the top distinction this year. The closest 2024 Grand Award winner to Illinois is The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.
