It looks like Wine Spectator has been scammed.

 

In what he calls an experiment that came about as part of an academic paper, author Robin Goldstein submitted the menu and wine list for Osteria L'Intrepido, a restaurant in Milan, to the storied wine magazine along with the $250 fee for an application to be considered for the Award of Excellence, the most basic of the publication's three tiers of awards. It won the award.

 

The problem: Osteria L'Intrepido doesn't exist. Goldstein made the restaurant, its menu and its wine lists up. Read more...