The Musso & Frank Grill Uncorks New Signature Red Wine Label “2021 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve” as Legendary 105 Year-Old Hollywood Restaurant Continues to Expand Its “Award of Excellence”- Winning Wine Program
March 12, 2025 (Hollywood, CA) — Musso & Frank Grill, Hollywood’s most iconic dining destination for the past 105 years and winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the last seven years, has just released the newest addition to its wine list: Musso’s 2021 – Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.
The announcement of the new wine was made jointly today by Mark Echeverria, Musso’s President & CEO, and the famed restaurant’s General Manager and Wine Director Andrea Scuto.
Musso & Frank’s partnership with Challen Winery in Santa Maria, CA, started seven years ago with the release of Musso’s first label, a single vineyard Syrah from the Santa Ynez AVA served by the glass at the restaurant. In 2020, Mr. Scuto decided to pursue the creation of a no-compromise Cabernet Sauvignon with the help of Challen’s amazing winemaker, Mary Bradley. The wine was conceived as a classic California Cabernet Sauvignon, picking and soft-pressing the best fruit found as local as an AVA could be to LA. The goal was to produce the new Cabernet using old world principles — marrying Musso and Frank’s roots from Europe with the amazing fruit quality of California.
Said Mr. Scuto, “We were inspired by Mary Bradley’s amazing talent producing our Syrah, and I really wanted to be part of the full production process of this new Cabernet. Mary and I discussed all of the steps which would be involved in creating something really special. Picking the best AVA for this project and the vintage, when to prune, pick and press, what kind of wood to use to elevate the wine to its full potential, when to bottle — all of these decisions were made jointly. Developing the new Cabernet was a labor of love for me. It was a fantastic experience working with such a talented winemaker as Mary. The new wine shows incredibly well – it’s powerful and yet elegant, preserving all the body and fruit from the Santa Barbara AVA while carrying at the same time the freshness and finesse of this incredible vintage. While we could have released our new Cabernet a bit earlier, we decided now was the best time. Our 2021 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve has now reached the right maturity to be fully enjoyed by our guests.”
Adds Mr. Echeverria, “While Musso’s is primarily known for offering the greatest martinis in the world as well as other popular cocktails, we are excited to be offering customers our specially blended new vintage wine as well. During the course of the past seven years, and under Andrea’s expert guidance, we have become renowned for our wine selections in addition to our always in demand steaks, chops, seafood, salads, and, of course, legendary martinis!”
About MUSSO & FRANK GRILL:
In 1919 in the heart of Hollywood, Frank Toulet opened a restaurant called Frank’s Café. Three years later, he would form a fateful partnership with Joseph Musso. These two men were forward-looking restaurateurs who envisioned what Hollywood could become with an anchor destination to serve locals and visitors alike. In 1922, they hired French chef Jean Rue – a culinary master who would wind up showcasing his artistry at Musso & Frank for an amazing 53 years, creating a menu that remains greatly intact to this day.
In 1927, Mr. Musso and Mr. Toulet sold their restaurant to a duo of Italian immigrants named Joseph Carissimi and John Mosso (a coincidentally similar name), and today Musso & Frank is owned and operated by the families of Mr. Mosso’s three granddaughters. From the day its doors first opened 105 years ago, Musso & Frank has been hailed as a bastion of flawless service and exquisite cuisine (including the restaurant’s signature martinis.) But what’s on the actual menu is only the beginning of the Musso & Frank experience.
Guests can settle into one of the restaurant’s classic red leather booths, amble over to its famed mahogany bar, gaze around in awe at the classic architecture or peer into what was the city’s very first public phone booth, where they will find themselves transported to another time and place. There, every meal is a work of art, every patron is a cherished guest, and every moment is an instantly priceless memory. Musso’s has long been considered “a home away from home” over the years for such artistic Hollywood luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and even The Rolling Stones. The restaurant has also been a source of inspiration for such literary giants as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, T.S. Elliot, John Steinbeck, Dorothy Parker and William Faulkner.
The phrase “Let’s meet up at Musso’s!” has also become synonymous with entertainment industry power meals. Indeed, it’s safe to say that the deals made here over the years have mirrored the history of Hollywood itself – all the way from silent films to talkies, from Technical to television, from VHS tapes to DVDs, and from cable TV networks to iPhones and digital streaming media platforms. Best of all, while Musso & Frank is obviously steeped in living history, it’s actually more vibrant and retro-hip today than ever, attracting multiple generations of Hollywood denizens who prefer elegance over garishness, career servers over indifferent order-takers, and classic cuisine over passing food fads.
Given its timeless appeal, Musso & Frank not surprisingly has become something of an on-screen celebrity itself, “co-starring” in dozens of films and TV shows over the years, including “The Kominsky Method,” “Bosch,” “Swingers,” the 2001 version of “Ocean’s 11,” “Ed Wood,” “Mad Men,” “Ray Donovan,” and most recently, Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 feature film, “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” to name just a few.
Musso’s current Executive Chef, J. P. Amateau, is only the third person to serve in that position in the restaurant’s entire, 105-year history (following the tenures of Jean Rue and his successor, Michel Bourger.) Seamlessly bridging the past, present and future, Chef Amateau’s menu honors the genius of his predecessors while being imbued with his very own distinct culinary sensibilities – many derived from traveling the world in search of the finest ingredients and inspirations, along with his own rich, personal history of coming to Musso’s as a child with his father, noted film and TV writer, director and producer Rod Amateau.
Home to countless classic dishes, Musso & Frank Grill has been hailed worldwide for its masterfully-prepared steaks – all cooked on a seasoned grill that dates back to 1934 – an astounding 90 years! Other Musso mainstays include Fettucine Alfredo (featuring a recipe from the original Alfredo’s restaurant in Italy brought to Chef Rue by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks), Corned Beef & Cabbage, Homemade Chicken Pot Pie and Braised Short Ribs, each as delectable as always, but today featuring mouth-watering new tweaks by Chef Amateau to further appeal to contemporary palates.
And then, of course, there’s Musso & Frank’s Perfect Martini – stirred not shaken (James Bond got it wrong!) – a true classic that has been delighting patrons since the days of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.
Today, Musso’s President & CEO Mark Echeverria, himself a fourth-generation member of the family of owners, his entire family, and the ever-loyal Musso’s team all remain laser focused on the future – even after 105 years. This is a key reason why the Musso & Frank Grill has been, and will forever remain, the most successful and iconic restaurant in the long history of Hollywood
