Ambassador and Star Wine List of the Year judge Ferran Centelles: "Barcelona never stops!"
Sommelier Ferran Centelles is known across the world for his work as Wine Manager at the illustrious El Bulli Foundation (and previously at El Bulli restaurant, until its closure in 2011). Also a writer, educator and judge, Ferran is Jancis Robinson’s Spanish specialist and has this year joined the jury panel for our Star Wine List of the Year awards. As he updates our guide to his hometown of Barcelona, we asked him what he’s looking for – in both Red Star listings and Gold Star winners.
“I’ve loved the experience of being a jury member,” says Barcelona Ambassador Ferran Centelles of his recent introduction to the Star Wine List of the Year judging process. “It’s been great working with highly knowledgeable people, spending a lot of time reviewing wine lists, analysing their selections, and debating. For this reason, I believe the awards are very fair.”
Ferran has lately joined Nina Jensen, Stephen Wong MW and Vincent Truong to assess the best wine lists in the UAE (finalists have been announced and the winners will be revealed on 9 December). He will also be determining our Spanish winners alongside Paz Levinson and the current World’s Best Sommelier, Raimonds Tomsons, in the new year. There’s still time to enter!
“Winning an award means positioning yourself at the highest level of wine selection quality and becoming a reference point for the city,” he explains.
As we reach the final week for accepting entries to Star Wine List of the Year Spain 2025, Ferran is also adding four new Red Stars to his hometown of Barcelona, which is where our award winners will be announced in February, during Barcelona Wine Week.
FERRAN'S NEW RED STARS
What's the latest in Barcelona?
“Barcelona never stops! It’s constantly improving gastronomically. The new bar concepts this year are fascinating. I like to think of Barcelona, with respect to Madrid, San Sebastián, or Santiago de Compostela, as one of the great gastronomic capitals of the world.”
How does Barcelona change in the winter?
“In recent years, winters have been very mild. The Christmas lights come on, but coats are not as heavy as they used to be, and terraces fill up, especially those with some form of heating. Barcelona has always stood out for having more modest lights and a more subdued holiday atmosphere. However, the menu offerings during this time are wonderful, featuring dishes like escudella i carn d’olla and cannelloni, which hold even more significance during these festive days.”
What are you looking for in a Red Star listing?
“I admit that my sensitivity to natural wine is somewhat limited. However, when selecting a venue as a Red Star, I try to remain objective – not guided by what I personally like or dislike, but by what I believe are wine selections with a clear sense of purpose, reflecting diverse styles.
“Obviously, as my background is that of a restaurant sommelier, the service, care and attentiveness, as well as the quality of recommendations from the staff, are key.
“That said, I love to eat, so I also pay great attention to the quality and authenticity of the dishes. In other words, the wines need to be excellent, and the selection well-curated, but without good food, the experience feels incomplete.”
And what do you want from a Silver or Gold Star wine lists, as awarded to finalists and winners at the Star Wine List of the Year awards?
“Depending on the category, I analyse different aspects. I like wine lists with personality, those that aren’t standard, where genuine effort has been made to find high-quality producers. Also, in the case of extensive wine lists with more than 600 references, I really value the inclusion of verticals across several vintages.
“It’s incredible, but a wine list can reveal a venue’s sensitivity to great drinking. There are wine lists with soul, and others that need more care. All these factors are taken into account, and we discuss them together as a jury.”
What else are you up to at the moment?
“As for me, I’m still deeply involved in writing Sapiens del Vino, a great encyclopedic work about wine focused on the restaurant world. We’re finishing the eighth volume, which is about the customer experience. It’s a project that fascinates me, and I hope it helps many sommeliers and people in the industry.”
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