Trade Event

Star Wine List of the Year International Final – 24 June – save the date

Write down Monday 24 June 2024 in your calendar; the date for the fourth Star Wine List of the Year International Finals. The event will be held in Stockholm, where Star Wine List will celebrate the best wine lists – and the teams behind them – in our international categories.

How the International Final works

In June 2023, Star Wine List once again launched its coveted international awards program, the forth annual Star Wine List of the Year awards. In a number of significant wine markets, from London to New York to Sweden and beyond, a prestigious jury has convened to judge the best wine lists in that city or country.

The winners in the international categories from each of the events during this fourth Star Wine List of the Year tour 2023/2024 will qualify for our International Final on 24 June, 2024, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries, cities and continents.

The tour will include several new countries/cities, including the Baltics, France, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. Here are all the upcoming events and preliminary dates:

2023:
• 16 Sep, South Africa with SASA, in Stellenbosch
• 24 Sep, Norway, with the Norwegian sommelier day, in Oslo
• New! 9 Oct, Ireland, with Sommit in Waterford
• 23 oct, Denmark, in Copenhagen
• New! 12 Nov, Belgium, in Antwerp during the Best Sommelier of Belgium contest
• New! 19 Nov, Baltics, in Tallinn with the food and wine festival and in cooperation with the Baltic sommelier associations

2024:
• New! 29 Jan, UAE in Dubai
• New! 12 Feb, France at Vinexpo Paris
• 4 March, UK, in London, with The Buyer
• 25 March, New York
• 8 April, Sweden, in Stockholm
• 15 April, Finland, in Helsinki
• New! 6 May International open - for venues in other countries who wish to enter
• New! 25 May DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) in Vienna
• 29 May, Asia, at Vinexpo in Hong Kong
• 24 June, International final, in Stockholm

Categories and criteria

Star Wine List judges the wine lists in several categories such as the Best Sparkling Wine List and Best By the Glass List. These categories are the same across all of the awards. In addition, local categories may be added. We have commercial partners for certain categories, such as the Best Austrian Wine List, presented by Austrian Wine. The commercial partners are, however, never involved in the selections of finalists or winners — that is completely up to our independent jury panel.

The criteria for the jury are straightforward but not simple: Vote for the most exciting wine list representing the category.

THE CATEGORIES

INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:

• Grand Prix, presented by Premium Estates of Austria
The best list overall
• Best Long List, presented by Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné
For wine lists with more than 600 references.
• Best Medium-Sized List, presented by Dreissigacker
200-600 references.
• Best Short List
<200 references.
• Best Austrian Wine List, presented by Austrian Wine
• Best Sparkling Wine List, presented by Nyetimber
• Best California Wine List, presented by Louis M. Martini
• Best By the Glass List
• Best Newcomer List, presented by DAOU
• Sustainable Wine List
For the Sustainable Wine List category, not only the wine list is evaluated, but also the stated actions of the venue, as described through a questionnaire in the application.

Here are the finalists in each category this far.

Grand Prix

– The best list overall

The category is presented by Premium Estates of Austria

Finalists:
The winner will be announced at the event.

Best Long List

– For wine lists with more than 600 references

Best Medium-Sized Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with 200-600 references.

Best Short List

– Recognizes the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.

Finalists:
Grub & Vine, Cape Town, South Africa
Hot Shop, Oslo, Norway
Bar Pez, Dublin, Ireland
Grimal, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ta-nnin, Antwerp, Belgium
Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
14 Horses, Vilnius, Lithuania
38 Restaurant, Tallinn, Estonia
Soirée, Dubai, UAE
Oktobre, Paris, France
Hjem, Wall, Hexham, UK
Ardesia Wine Bar, New York City, US
Bord, Stockholm, Sweden
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä, Finland

Best Austrian Wine List

– The best list with wines from Austria

Best Sparkling Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with sparkling wines.

Best By the Glass List

– Recognizes the best by the glass list.

Finalists:
Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa, Johannesburg, South Africa
Park Hotel Vossevangen, Voss, Norway
UNioN Wine, Bar & Kitchen, Waterford, Ireland
Bar'Vin, Copenhagen, Denmark
Zilte, Antwerp, Belgium
SOMM The Wine Bar, Vilnius, Lithuania
Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
Nomad, Riga, Latvia
Ossiano, Dubai, UAE
La Table de Yoann Conte, Veyrier du Lac, France
Noble Rot Mayfair, London, UK
Terroir Tribeca, New York City, US
Operakällaren, Stockholm, Sweden
Vinho, Turku, Finland

Best California Wine List

– The best wine list with wines from California

Best Newcomer List

– Recognizes a venue that recently opened

The category is presented by DAOU

Finalists:
Signature Restaurant Umhlanga, Durban, South Africa
Hermetikken Vinbar, Stavanger, Norway
Bar Pez, Dublin, Ireland
Josephine Vinhandel & Bar, Copenhagen, Denmark
Restaurant Imprévu by De Barrier, Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium
Chin Chin wine bar, Tallinn, Estonia
Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
14 Horses, Vilnius, Lithuania
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Dubai, UAE
Les Parcellaires, Annecy, France
Mountain, London, UK
ILIS, New York City, US
Brasserie Draken, Gothenburg, Sweden
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki, Finland

Sustainable Wine List

– For the Sustainable Wine List category, not only the wine list is evaluated, but also the stated actions of the venue, as described through a questionnaire in the application

Finalists:
ëlgr restaurant, Cape Town, South Africa
Credo, Trondheim, Norway
Kontrast, Oslo, Norway
Daróg Wine Bar, Galway, Ireland
The Pear Tree Café & Wine Bar, Galway, Ireland
Restaurant ARK, Copenhagen, Denmark
Convento, Leuven, Belgium
Fotografiska Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
BOCA, Dubai, UAE
Les Résistants, Paris, France
Apricity, London, UK
Chambers, New York City, US
Julie, Malmö, Sweden
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki, Finland

Jury

The jury of our international final is filled with sommelier champions:

• Salvatore Castano
• Arvid Rosengren
• Marc Almert
• Heidi Mäkinen MW

More info, the winners from each event and other news will be presented in this post later.

Read about the terms and how Star Wine List judges the wine lists here.

Commercial partners

For commercial opportunities, please contact Star Wine List at sales@starwinelist.com

Published 29-June-2023

Event

Monday 24 June

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Austrian Wine

The Austrian Wine Marketing Board is based in Vienna, and is a national service body for the Austrian wine industry. The aim is to strategically support, coordinate and maintain quality and sales.

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