TOP NEW VEGAS HOT SPOT FOR 2010

Aureole

Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino

Designed by preeminent international restaurant designer Adam Tihany, Aureole's visual trademark is a four-story wine tower with its very own Wine Angel Stewards, who gracefully ascend the tower to retrieve bottles.  Aureole's tower contains rare French and American wines, along with a substantial wine list from around the world. Aureole has won Wine Spectator's Grand Award for the wine program every year since 1999. And in 2006, Aureole won the prestigious award for outstanding Wine Service, the food world's equivalent of the Oscars.  Charlie Palmer's renowned New York Aureole enjoys a reputation as one of the finest restaurants in the United States. Palmer, honored as the "Best Chef" in New York by the James Beard Foundation, opened Aureole at Mandalay Bay in 1999, earning the prestigious Four Diamond Award each year since. In both 2008 and 2009, Aureole was awarded a Michelin Star, and also received a Four Star Recipient in the 2009 Mobil Travel Guide. 

The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room

Rio All-Suite Casino Hotel

It's fair to say that some of the wines at the Wine Cellar have more history than Vegas itself. No place for celebrity sightings or picking up dames, instead this no-nonsense bar caters to discriminating taste. Over 45,000 different bottles are on offer, ranging from a 1900 Chateau d'Yequem to Thomas Jefferson's own Madeira Port, and the knowing staff will make sure that you find a taste that you can appreciate. The menu offers samples in "flights" as well as full glasses of the grape, some of which run up to $375 per glass. With a knowing staff and some tasty hors d'oeuvres, this is a perfect place to start off a long evening of decadence.