California Stars: find great wine lists for Californian wines in Europe
Today, we offer a new map for fans of California’s wines by announcing our first wave of California Stars, with almost 100 additions to Star Wine List's bespoke guide with California Wine – and counting. Restaurants from 17 countries are represented.
Among the first set of California three-stars you will find leading restaurants such as Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay in London, Kinfelts in Hamburg, Napa Grill in Zurich, Park Hotel Vossevangen in Voss, Norway and Spesso in Stockholm.
California is the fourth-largest wine-producing region in the world, with 6,200 wineries spread over more than 150 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). It is home to some of the most iconic labels.
The California Stars is a collaboration between the California Wine Institute and Star Wine List to highlight European restaurants with serious Californian wine lists. Restaurants and wine bars in Europe have been invited to submit their wine lists in a bid to receive a California Star. The successful venues so far are spread across 17 countries (!), including the UK, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. We still welcome submissions from all over the continent and our aim is to list 200 by this summer.
These wine places don’t just receive a listing in our special California Wines guide but free staff trainings, social media and influencer promotions, and the chance for their sommelier teams to apply for an exclusive study trip to California this summer.
And wine lovers in Europe find great places to find California wine!
You can find the California stars through our country and star guides below but also by filtering the venues in our map.
One, two and three stars
The California Stars are named in three tiers, depending on how deep their selection of California wines are:
California 1-Star
We’ve named 19 venues with wine lists containing up to 10 Californian labels. These establishments are split across 10 countries.
California 2-Star
Venues featuring 11-50 Californian wines receive a California 2-Star, and our map lists 37 of these across 12 countries.
California 3-Star
These are the European restaurants and wine bars with more than 50 wines from California on their lists, and we’re revealing 41, spread over seven countries.
Check out the guide of the top: California 3-Star wine places.
Explore by country
Or you can explore them by country. Our California Stars are spread across 17 countries across Europe, with the largest selections found in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the UK. Explore each one in turn.
Or see the full list of all California stars here.
About California Stars
In 2022, the Wine Institute launched California Wine Weeks in restaurants all over Europe, championing both the diverse wines made in California and the way their pair so beautifully with European cuisine.
“After four years of promoting California Wines on the menu through our California Wine Weeks campaign, reaching over 500 restaurants across 13 countries, we are very pleased to be joining forces with Star Wine List, bringing our 55,000 engaged social media followers on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @californiawineseurope to this unique platform,” says Marco Tiggelman, Trade Director Programs at the California Wine Institute.
Krister Bengtsson, Founder and Publisher of Star Wine List says, “Congratulations to all these restaurants and wine bars who have shown their knowledge in selecting wines from California for their beverage programs. We can't wait to go and enjoy a good bottle of California wine at these addresses in the coming weeks and months!”
Are you a restaurant and think you could earn a California Star? We are still taking applications on a rolling basis. Apply for free and learn about the advantages of being included, here.
Please note that this is a partner program. Learn how to feature in Star Wine List's regular listings, here.
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Presented by The California Wine Institute
California Wine Institute is an association of 1,000 California wineries and wine-related businesses that initiate and advocate public policy to enhance the environment for the responsible production, consumption and enjoyment of wine.
