A “desire to excel” showcased at Star Wine List of the Year France 2025
On Monday, 10 February 2025, Star Wine List crowned the wine lists in France (and the teams who created them) at an awards ceremony held during Wine Paris. Attended by the competition's finalists, winners, sponsors, and wine friends from across the country, the event saw the first Gold Star presented for Best Bordeaux Wine List and not one, but three winners in the Sustainable Wine List category.
“What an incredible treat it was to judge Star Wine List of the Year France,” says judge Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS, “and to look through one well-curated wine list after the other. The passion, expertise, and desire to excel is clearly felt, and France is truly such an exciting place to be right now! A big congratulations to all participants.”
This is the second time that Star Wine List has celebrated the most impressive wine lists in France, and Kathrine was joined on the jury panel by sommeliers Pascaline Lepeltier and Nina Jensen, and wine writer and radio presenter Jérôme Gagnez.
Pascaline helped Star Wine List's Krister Bengtsson and Liora Levi to present Gold Stars to restaurants and wine bars from Alsace, Champillon, Nantes, the Haute-Savoie, Clermont-Ferrand and, of course, Paris.
Owing to such incredible efforts to ensure sustainability, the judges saw fit to award Gold Stars to three venues in this increasingly important category: Freia (Nantes) and two of Les Résistants group in Paris – Le Comptoir and La Table (one of two Gold Stars that La Table took home on the night, including for Best Short List). As Pascaline explained, the recognition is required “for different reasons - on the one hand, you’ve started on a path and are making your commitment [to sustainability] bigger and stronger but also when you’re starting a business, we know it takes some time to get things to grow. So we wanted to reward both the business doing this as a larger structure and the one doing it as a smaller, independent restaurant.”
The much-anticipated award for Best Bordeaux Wine List went to Le Taillevent, in Paris’ eight arrondissement, with the judges praising the restaurant’s evident work over time to ensure a comprehensive (and exciting) selection of both estates and vintages, including some “incredible verticals.” The highest honour of the competition, the Grand Prix, went to Best Medium-Sized List winners La Régalade.
The awards were presented at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles during the fifth Wine Paris trade fair, which now a staple on the international wine calendar with an expected 50,000 trade guests visiting across three days.
And here are the best wine lists in France...
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list overall.
Gold Star:
La Régalade, Clermont-Ferrand
What the judges said:
“It’s a pleasure to give this prize to an exemplary list in terms of passion and care – passion for wines, care for the producers chosen and supported, for the cuvées selected and cellared, for the guests who can enjoy a great diversity of experience at fair prices (something getting rarer and rarer in restaurants). We can only wish for more lists of this calibre, and this intention.”
– Pascaline Lepeltier
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
Gold Star:
La Table d'Olivier Nasti, Kaysersberg
What the judges said:
“An impressive wine list in the depth of its offering, both in terms of iconic estates and emerging talents. Alsatian vineyards are in the spotlight, as they should be for a great Alsatian restaurant, including all the quality estates the region has. An intelligent wine list with indications of soils and geography.”
– Jérôme Gagnez
Silver Stars:
Au Bon Coin, Wintzenheim
Aux Quatre Coins du Vin, Bordeaux
Drouant, Paris
Hôtel des Bains, Charavines
La Table de Yoann Conte, Veyrier du Lac
Le Bon Georges, Paris
Le Bout du Monde, Beaune
Le Parc at Domaine Les Crayères, Reims
Le Petit Sommelier, Paris
Le Taillevent, Paris
Les Clefs d’Argent, Mont de Marsan
Maison Pic, Valence
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references.
Gold Star:
La Régalade, Clermont-Ferrand
What the judges said:
“The Best Medium List stands out for its impeccable quality and clear purpose – this takes great expertise to curate! It assumes an undogmatic approach and offers a wide range of price points at fair prices across the list, making it attractive for a wide group of wine lovers.”
– Nina Jensen
Silver Stars:
Brasserie du Théâtre, Bourg-en-Bresse
Hôtel Pinard, Montpellier
L'Epicurien, Colmar
La Ferme du Chozal, Hauteluce
La Winstub du Chambard, Kaysersberg
Pétard, Paris
Restaurant L'Épine, Touraine Azay-Le-Rideau
Resto-Zinc, Paris
Best Short List
– Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Gold Star:
Les Résistants - La Table, Paris
What the judges said:
“The winning list is balanced and dynamic, with a lot of choice for the category and stellar selections, especially in Burgundy and Champagne.”
– Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS
Silver Stars:
Bel Ami, Lyon
Casse-Cailloux, Tours
Dame Restaurant, Paris
Les Amoureuses, Paris
OBBO, Nantes
Prémices, Marseille
Regain, Lyon
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best 'by the glass' list.
Gold Star:
La Table de Yoann Conte, Veyrier du Lac
What the judges said:
“The winning list has a fabulous by-the-glass selection, in varying [glass] sizes, and with varying levels of maturity. If you want to discover Savoie, this is the place to go, but there are impressive fortified wine and sake selections too.”
– Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS
Silver Stars:
La Dame de Pic Paris, Paris
Le Parc at Domaine Les Crayères, Reims
Le Petit Sommelier, Paris
Le Taillevent, Paris
Les 110 de Taillevent Paris, Paris
Maison Pic, Valence
Vignobles et Châteaux Wine Bar, Saint-Emilion
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
Gold Star:
Le Royal at the Royal Champagne Hotel and Spa, Champillon
What the judges said:
“An exceptional selection of Champagnes at all prices with very precise titles, and rich in information. A welcome educational effort and rare enough to be highlighted. These qualities allow customers to grasp the full complexity of the wines of Champagne.”
– Jérôme Gagnez
Silver Stars:
228 Litres, Paris
Cave Pétillance, Paris
Château de la Chèvre d'Or, Èze
La Table d'Olivier Nasti, Kaysersberg
La Table de Yoann Conte, Veyrier du Lac
Le Bout du Monde, Beaune
Le Clarence, Paris
Le Parc at Domaine Les Crayères, Reims
Le Taillevent, Paris
Le Wine Bar by Le Vintage, Reims
Sustainable Wine List
– Recognises a wine list that has put extra emphasis on the wine program’s overall impact, including vine growing, winemaking, packaging and transport.
Gold Star:
Freia, Nantes
Les Résistants - La Table, Paris
Les Résistants - Le Comptoir, Paris
What the judges said:
“Practicing sustainability so that the impact and philosophy transcends the individual place is no small achievement! This winner has achieved exactly that through an extensive approach – combining education, long-term collaborations, and a stellar wine program that stand in testament to their commitment.”
– Nina Jensen on Les Résistants
“In an economic context where one could take short cuts and prioritise just financial success, it is very stimulating to see new projects driven at their very heart by the idea of sustainability at every level – micro and macro – with conviction and passion. This place shows it is possible to open an independent restaurant today in the right way, without compromise – an example to emulate.”
– Pascaline Lepeltier on Freia
Silver Stars:
Chez Eugène, Paris
La Maison des Beaujolais, Belleville-en-Beaujolais
Un Cantalou à Strasbourg, Strasbourg
Best Newcomer List
– Recognises a venue that has recently opened.
This category is presented by La Bouche du Roi
Gold Star:
Dame Restaurant, Paris
What the judges said:
“The Best Newcomer List strikes a great balance between playfulness and ambition, blending fun, classic, and grand references seamlessly. Despite being a newcomer, a good portion of the wines are within a decent drinking frame. The identity of the list has already taken a clear shape!”
– Nina Jensen
Silver Stars:
Freia, Nantes
La Fontaine Gaillon, Paris
La Table Floralie, Aix-les-Bains
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Austria.
This category is presented by Austrian Wine
Gold Star:
Géosmine, Paris
What the judges said:
“An ambitious list tapped into the pulse of the wine world would not be complete without showcasing the diversity of styles Austria offers today. White, skin, rosé, red and sparkling cuvées embody the remarkable dynamism of the country, carried on by many producers, especially some of the low-intervention, terroir-driven vignerons present on this list. This is a noticeable commitment!”
– Pascaline Lepeltier
Silver Stars:
Hôtel Pinard, Montpellier
La Table d'Olivier Nasti, Kaysersberg
La Table de Yoann Conte, Veyrier du Lac
Maison Pic, Valence
Pétard, Paris
LOCAL CATEGORIES:
Best Bordeaux Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Bordeaux.
This category is presented by Château de Pez
Gold Star:
Le Taillevent, Paris
What the judges said:
“This Bordeaux wine list is exceptional in several ways: a very fine selection of high-quality white Bordeaux; incredible verticals across a large number of great wines as well as certain less-renowned estates; many wines offered in ready-to-drink vintages. This wine list is testimony to the huge amount of work done by the restaurant, initiated a long time ago, to ensure continued transmission.”
– Jérôme Gagnez
Silver Stars:
Aux Quatre Coins du Vin, Bordeaux
Château de la Chèvre d'Or, Èze
Drouant, Paris
Le Clarence, Paris
Le George, Paris
Le Parc at Domaine Les Crayères, Reims
Le Petit Sommelier, Paris
Les 110 de Taillevent Paris, Paris
Restaurant Espadon, Paris
Vignobles et Châteaux Wine Bar, Saint-Emilion
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 winners in the international categories will qualify for our International Final in June 2025, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries and continents.
Read about the terms and how Star Wine List judges the wine lists here.
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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.
