Farmyard at St Leonards-by-the-Sea wins the UK’s best Sustainable Wine List
Farmyard at St Leonards-by-the-Sea is the winner of the Sustainable Wine List category of the 2023 Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer awards.
This is the inaugural Sustainable Wine List award and the category was presented by Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch, itself a pioneer in sustainability.
Farmyard impressed the judges with its crisp and informative list.
“Strong game on including wine details,” said jury member Jan Konetzki, adding the wine list had many well-known classic sustainable producers mingling alongside those who came to fame in the last decade, along with stars of the future. “Great price points and a good spread, from juicy quaffers to finer wines, too.”
Ben O’Norum at Farmyard said that: ”We've both got a bit of a passion for natural wine and sustainability. It means a lot to us. If you’re going to serve local produce and put that amount of care into your food, I don’t see why that shouldn’t continue into the wine."
"So what happens next — are you going to try out again next year?" Liora Levi, Star Wine List's Ambassador Manager, asked Ben and Kate O'Norum.
"Why not? We're very pleased that we have won, especially being from a little seaside town that no one has ever heard of,” said Kate.
The award was presented at the Winemakers Club in London on Monday, 20 February 2023.
The silver medallists in the Sustainable Wine List category were:
• Apricity, London
• Carters of Moseley, Birmingham
• Coast Saundersfoot, Saundersfoot
• Holm Somerset, South Petherton
• Pale Hall Hotel, Llanderfell, Bala
• Restaurant St. Barts, London
About Farmyard at St Leonards-by-the-Sea
Farmyard is a restaurant, wine bar and wine shop at St Leonards-on-the-Sea that specialises in local produce and natural wines. They serve organic meats, fresh seafood, cured meets, local cheeses and creative vegetarian and vegan dishes.
They serve only the highest welfare meats and source as locally as possible, including beef from and lamb from Pevensey and vegetables from around Sussex and Kent. And, of course, they focus on sustainable wines.
About the 2023 Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer awards
Star Wine List of the Year is an international celebration of the great wine lists of the world and the people who create them.
“These are awards that celebrate the work of those who work at the very pinnacle of wine,” says Krister Bengtsson, the founder and publisher of Star Wine List.
In the UK, the award has been a joint offering of Star Wine List, based in Sweden, and The Buyer, the UK’s top digital wine trade publication.
The judges included a star-studded lineup of sommeliers: Ronan Sayburn MS, Piotr Pietras MS, and Jan Konetzki. They were joined by Star Wine List’s UK Ambassador, Ruth Spivey.
The 2023 Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer is part of Star Wine List’s international awards, now the benchmark for wine lists. Other competitions have taken place in the Nordics, South Africa and Australia.
As the winner of the Sustainable Wine List, Farmyard has qualified to take part in our International Final in June, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries and continents, such as South Africa, Australia, and Sweden.
Read about the terms and how Star Wine List judges the wine lists here.
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Spier Wine Farm
Spier Wine Farm is an old Stellenbosch wine farm. Their goal is to build a healthy ecosystem, where natural resources and the environment are protected and where people are respected, valued, and empowered.
