Dame Restaurant has France's Best Newcomer List for 2025
Paris’ Dame Restaurant has won the Best Newcomer List category at Star Wine List of the Year France 2025.
At a ceremony held during Wine Paris, on 10 February 2025, Star Wine List awarded Gold Stars to the best wine list teams in France.
The Best Newcomer List celebrates a wine bar or restaurant that has opened in the past year but is already doing excellent things with its wine selection. This year, that prize goes to Dame Restaurant, in the ninth arrondissement of Paris.
Jury member Nina Jensen explained that Dame “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!”
This award is supported by La Bouche du Roi.
The full list of winners in Star Wine List of the Year France 2025.
Runners Up
Silver Stars for the Best Newcomer List were awarded to:
Freia, Nantes
La Fontaine Gaillon, Paris
La Table Floralie, Aix-les-Bains
Expert jury panel
The international jury for France included four top names from the wine world:
• Kathrine Larsen-Robert – Master Sommelier
• Nina Jensen – Second-Best Sommelier of the World 2019, 2023 (ASI)
• Pascaline Lepeltier – Best Sommelier of France 2018
• Jérôme Gagnez – wine writer and radio presenter
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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