“Diversity and attention to detail” mark out Finland's best wine lists for 2025
Finland's vibrant wine scene took centre stage on 17 March at Helsinki's Peloton Cycling Eatery, where the winners of Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2025 were unveiled.
According to judge Stefan Neumann MS, “diversity and attention to detail” resonated throughout the submitted wine lists at our awards in Finland this year, which coincided with the Best Sommelier of Finland contest. Neumann was joined on the jury panel by fellow sommeliers Heidi Mäkinen MW and Mikk Parre, and he said that they were “deeply impressed” by the carefully-curated lists, all displaying “their own identity and sense of place.”
Jyväskylä's Pöllöwaari captured the highest award, the Grand Prix, showcasing a masterful blend of classic and contemporary wines across diverse price points. While Helsinki's Minne Champagne & Wine's exceptional sparkling selection earned it the Best Sparkling Wine List award, with Neumann MS declaring it a destination in itself.
Other winners from the capital included Restaurant Grön and Wellamo, who shared the honour of Best Sustainable Wine List, underscoring Finland's commitment to responsible practices.
The awards were held alongside the Best Sommelier of Finland competition, which was won by Dmitrii Frolov for the second year in a row.
Winners in the international categories will now automatically be entered into the Star Wine List of the Year International Final, which will be held in Vienna on the 16 June.
Jury panel
Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2025 was judged by three highly-respected international sommeliers:
• Heidi Mäkinen – Master of Wine
• Mikk Parre – Best Sommelier of Europe, Africa & The Middle East 2024
• Stefan Neumann – Master Sommelier
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list of the overall competition.
Gold Star:
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
What the winners said:
“This is unbelievable, I thought we would have small chances in the category Best Shortlist so winning the Grand Prix feels amazing. Now we have to continue to work hard.”
– Ulla Häkkinen, Pöllöwaari
What the judges said:
“This is a very complete list including both classic and trendy choices at different price points. The list is put together in a way that makes it both fun to read and easy to approach.”
– Heidi Mäkinen MW
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
Gold Star:
Palace, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“I don’t realize we won yet but it feels great, we have been working for a long time so we appreciate this so much.”
– Olli Nurmilahti, Palace
What the judges said:
“This wine list is very beautiful and refined, and has clearly taken a tremendous time to put together. It offers great diversity and without a doubt serves the guests of the restaurant perfectly.”
– Heidi Mäkinen MW
Silver Stars:
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references.
Gold Star:
Café Savoy, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“We won two times in a row, and it feels amazing. I think a medium sized wine list is nice because it gives a good selection but also flexibility to add new wines and the possibility to keep older vintages.”
– Heidi Reis, Cafè Savoy
What the judges said:
“An exciting and well-crafted list consisting of only old world wines, offering a good variation of both classic and new exciting producers a bit off the beaten path.”
– Mikk Parre
Silver Stars:
Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki
Demo, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pastis, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Lilja, Helsinki
Best Short List
– Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Gold Star:
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
What the judges said:
“A truly world-class short list that is informative, easy to read and offers an incredibly deep and thought out selection for its size.”
– Mikk Parre
Silver Stars:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Kuurna, Helsinki
Muru Winebar, Helsinki
Salutorget, Helsinki
Wellamo, Helsinki
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best ‘by the glass’ list.
Gold Star:
Muru Winebar, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“We try not only to have something for everyone by the glass but also offer some exceptional wines from our cellar and Coravin helps us to be able to do that.”
– Demetrio Lombino, Muru Winebar
What the judges said:
“The list is diverse in its selection offering both approachable and exclusive choices. It's especially delightful to see some mature wines on the list, which respects the quality of the wines listed and offers the the guests great experiences.”
– Heidi Mäkinen MW
Silver Stars:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Vinho, Turku
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
Gold Star:
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“We have a big focus on Champagne and the smaller top tier producers from the region but also other high quality sparkling wines from around the world.”
– Toni Aikasalo, Minne Champagne & Wine
What the judges said:
“This sparkling wine list gave me hundreds of reasons to book my plane ticket right away. Simply one of the best I have seen to date...Finland I am coming!”
– Stefan Neumann MS
Silver Stars:
Café Savoy, Helsinki
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Lilja, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
Best Newcomer List
– Recognises a venue that has recently opened.
Gold Star:
Ravintola Laivakoira, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“We opened only six months ago so when register for Star Wine List of the Year we had no expectations, but I and my team are super happy.”
– Venla Männistö, Ravintola Laivakoira
What the judges said:
“Remarkable effort and truly impressive to create such an wonderful enganging and diverse list. Kudos”
– Stefan Neumann MS
Silver Star:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
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 Stars:
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Wellamo, Helsinki
“This is the third time we win this category, and we are very proud, to us sustainability is always the key factor. ”
– Fanny Tuominen, Restaurant Grön
What the winners said:
“I think the next big thing is to focus on other non-alcoholic beverages, like juices and cocktails made with local ingredients but of course there is always a future for wine. ”
– Otto Rothberg, Wellamo
What the judges said:
“A restaurant that emphasises seasonality and local produce and follows a sustainable approach not only with their wide selection of organic, biodynamic and low intervention wines, but also in their approach to cocktails and other beverages.”
– Mikk Parre on Restaurant Grön
“The sustainable approach of this restaurant aims to build a better future by taking both environmental and social aspects into consideration. The offering of local and Finnish products is well aligned with the values of the restaurant and those values are also well reflected on the choices made for the wine list.”
– Heidi Mäkinen MW on Wellamo
Silver Stars:
Kaskis, Turku
Le Ankka, Helsinki
Nolla, Helsinki
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Austria.
Gold Star:
Savoy, Helsinki
What the winners said:
“Finnish people love riesling and grüner veltliner but are becoming more interested in other varities from Austria.”
– Santeri Lankinen, Palace
This category is presented by Austrian Wine
What the judges said:
“A broad selection of Austrian wines that covers nearly all styles and regions, including a mix of conventional and low intervention producers. The list shows good vintage variety and shines with its sizable selection of Austrian red wines.”
– Mikk Parre
Silver Stars:
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
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.
