Chez Fifi has the Best Newcomer List in New York 2025
It may only have opened in December 2024, but sleek French bistro Chez Fifi has quickly become a standout destination for food and wine lovers alike, bagging the Gold Star for the Best Newcomer List at Star Wine List of the Year New York 2025.
“What a crazy list to start a project with! How is it possible?” exclaimed judge Paz Levinson after assessing the wine selection of the Upper East Side’s Chez Fifi, which has earned a Gold Star in this year's New York competition as the Best Newcomer List in the wider metropolitan area.
“A masterful mystery, but a wine list to shine among the best in New York,” continued Levinson, who was joined on the judging panel by fellow sommeliers Stephen Wong MW and Salvatore Castano, along with Star Wine List's New York Ambassador, wine writer Wanda Mann. “The design also is pretty and every detail is thought through. Plus, the prices look very fair. Congratulations, and I’m looking forward to drinking from this list.”
The Gold Star was presented to Beverage Director Tira Johnson at an awards ceremony held at Monterey restaurant on 5 May, in a category sponsored by La Bouche du Roi. Tira and her team are now automatically entered into the Star Wine List of the Year International Final 2025, to compete against other newcomers from across the world – the winners will be announced at an event in Vienna, in June 2025.
Runners Up
Silver Stars in the Best Newcomer List category were awarded to:
Brass, New York City
Heroes, New York City
Manuela, New York City
Massara Osteria Campana, New York City
Mitsuru, New York City
Nin Hao, New York City
Smithereens, New York City
Time and Tide, New York City
Judges
The expert jury panel for Star Wine List of the Year New York 2025 comprised four global wine experts:
• Stephen Wong MW – sommelier, judge and consultant
• Wanda Mann – wine writer and presenter
• Salvatore Castano – Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa 2021 (ASI)
• Paz Levinson – Best Sommelier of the Americas 2015 (ASI)
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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