French judge Jérôme Gagnez on helping wine lovers visit the “right” establishments

Jérôme Gagnez.
Rachel Fellows
Published 22-January-2025
Interview / France

On 10 February, Star Wine List will celebrate the best wine lists in France – and the people who have created them – at an awards ceremony hosted during Wine Paris. In addition to our three sommelier judges, we welcome local expert Jérôme Gagnez to the jury panel for the first time.

“I am very happy to join the jury of Star Wine List of the Year France 2025!” Jérôme says. A columnist on France Inter's On Va Déguster radio show since 2017, he also writes for trade publications such as Tanin and Thuriès magazines.

Earlier this week, the writer joined Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS, Nina Jensen and Pascaline Lepeltier to compare their scores for the wine lists submitted to our competition, which came from all over France. View the shortlist, here.

And Jérôme will be joining Founder and Publisher Krister Bengtsson at the awards ceremony at Wine Paris, on 10 February, to hand out Gold Stars to our winners.

When did you first get into wine?

“In my family, wine was a serious business, especially with one of my uncles. I started tasting with interest at the age of 20. My earliest memories go back to the age of 15/16. We could enjoy a glass of wine at the family dinner table.”

What, in your opinion, makes a good wine list?

“What defines a good wine list is the precision of its selection, a certain breadth and, of course, reasonable prices.”

Why are you excited to be joining Star Wine List of the Year France?

“Because it's an opportunity to introduce the general public to restaurants that make a real effort to showcase their wines, and thus enable wine lovers to visit the right establishments.”

What are you looking forward to at Wine Paris?

“Discovering new wines.”

Stay tuned for news of our winners. And view our French finalists, here.

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