Grand Hôtel has the Best California Wine List in Sweden
Grand Hôtel in Stockholm won the Gold Star in the category Best California Wine List when Star Wine List returned to Sweden to celebrate the best wine lists and the teams behind them for the sixth time. The category was presented by Louis M. Martini.
"Super fun to win this, thank you. We try to continue to build with verticals and all the good stuff. And we also try to include what is new and happening," said Simon Samuelsson, head sommelier at Grand Hôtel.
"This list reminds me of when I used to work on the floor with one of the biggest American lists in Europe. This list gave me goose bumps. I really loved the complexity and the verticals of top producers," said jury member Salvatore Castano, Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2021, about the winning list.
The Silver Star winners in this category were:
Eriksberg Vilt & Natur, Trensum
Ett Hem, Stockholm
Hotell Borgholm, Borgholm
Leijontornet, Stockholm
Operakällaren, Stockholm
PM & Vänner, Växjö
Restaurang AG, Stockholm
Sweden is a part of our 2023-2024 International tour of wine lists celebrations including South Africa, UK and New York to name a few. Star Wine List of the Year Sweden was held in Stockholm on April 8. This year saw a record number of finalists – with far more than 100 wine lists entering the competition, the jury selected a record number of finalists: 59!
"It is the sixth time we are celebrating the wine lists in Sweden and the great teams behind them and we are happy to have such a strong showing," said Krister Bengtsson, founder and publisher of Star Wine List.
Grand Hôtel will now qualify for our International Final in June 2024, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries and continents.
Jury
The jury of our Swedish awards is filled with top international sommeliers and wine experts:
• Nina Højgaard Jensen, Second Best Sommelier of the World 2019 & 2023 (ASI)
• Rajat Parr, renowned sommelier and winemaker
• Salvatore Castano, Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2021 (ASI)
• Kathrine Larsen-Robert, Master Sommelier
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.
Read about the terms and how Star Wine List judges the wine lists here.
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Louis M. Martini
Louis M. Martini is an iconic Californian wine producer. Read more by clicking on the logo.
