One Baltimore restaurant advanced Wednesday to the finals of the James Beard Foundation’s national competition honoring excellence in the culinary industry.

Cindy Wolf’s Charleston in Harbor East was named a finalist in the category of Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, which honors restaurants that excel in beverage pairings. The winners will be announced June 16 following a ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

As for tonight? “We’ll be celebrating with some wine,” Wolf said Wednesday.

The recognition brought back memories of being 19 and trying her first glasses of wine at a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. “It’s been a long, fun road,” she said, adding that she got her wine education from her father, who has since passed away. He would not be surprised by Wolf’s latest honor, she said.

“He’d be like, ‘you know that’s right,‘” Wolf said.

This year, five Maryland semifinalists were named by the foundation. Dre Levon of Remington’s Clavel Mezcaleria was recognized in the new category of Outstanding Cocktail Service Professional, while three chefs — Jasmine Norton of Hampden’s Urban Oyster, Michael Correll of Ruse in St. Michaels and Fernando Gonzalez of 2FiftyBarbeque in Riverdale — were nominated for the title of Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. None of them moved into the finalist round Wednesday.

Cindy Wolf and Charleston have been repeat finalists and semifinalists for various James Beard Awards, but have never won. Last year, the restaurant did not advance to the final round after being recognized as a semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category.

At that time, the foundation named two Maryland chefs and one restaurant finalists for the awards. Remington’s Clavel Mezcaleria lost out to Jewel of the South in New Orleans for Outstanding Bar, and Tony Conte of Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana in Darnestown lost the foundation’s title of Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic to Harley Peet of Bas Rouge in Easton.

Wolf has previously been a James Beard Foundation finalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2006, 2008 and every year from 2014 to 2019. Wolf said she’s been cooking for 41 years, so every time the foundation’s singled her out for her work has felt equally as important. Despite the frequent nominations, she’s yet to take home a James Beard Award. But that doesn’t concern her: “It’s all life. I will always take this recognition.”

Her most recent nod for the 28-year-old restaurant’s wine program acknowledges the work of sommelier Lindsay Willey, who worked together with Tony Foreman, Wolf’s former husband and longtime business partner. She’s proud of what they’ve accomplished and how much effort they put into evolving the program. “It’s a constant process,” she said.

In January, the duo announced that they were no longer using the “Foreman Wolf” designation to refer to their businesses. Foreman shifted his attention to the duo’s other properties, including Petit Louis Bistro, Cinghiale, The Milton Inn and Johnny’s, under the name Foreman+Co, while Wolf promised to focus exclusively on Charleston.

To be recognized at any level of the foundation’s competition is good for business. Two-thirds of semifinalists for James Beard Awards reported a significant increase in patronage, according to a January press release. This comes “at a time when independent restaurants continue to operate on razor-thin margins,” the release said.

For Wolf, being a finalist means bringing out more customers at a time when tariffs on wine could impact revenue for restaurants. “If it brings more people here, more power to it,” she said.