New winners took the stage in our 2024 UK wine list awards
On March 4 Star Wine List and The Buyer returned to the UK to celebrate the best wine lists and the teams behind them, for the fourth time. Mountain in London was the big winner with Gold Stars in three categories, including Grand Prix for best list overall. Quite a feat for an establishment that only opened less than a year ago!
”There is definitely no shortage of places to go to for wine lovers when visiting the UK! The competition standards were very high in all categories and it was really exciting to see the variety of lists available as well as the quality of their content. A massive congratulations to all participants and all UK sommeliers who have entered this year's challenge, thanks to your passion and hard work, you have made our job very enjoyable,” said jury member Julie Dupouy-Young about the competition.
The Gold Stars were spread across the kingdom this year, with a prize going to the Isle of Wight and another to Hexham in the north of England. Lukasz Kuszela of Les 110 de Taillevent was beaming after winning the sparkling category for the third time running.
The event was held at The Winemakers Club in central London, and the ambiance was buzzing under the railway arches and across the tasting tables where sommeliers took the chance to taste wines from Star Wine List's partners.
As one sommelier said: I've never been to an awards event with so many good wines!
UK is included to our 2023-2024 International tour, and this was the fourth time we were running it in UK, in partnership with The Buyer.
Here are all the winners:
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list overall
The category is presented by Bibendum
Gold Star:
Mountain, London
”An outstanding work in making this wine list, encompassing quality and depth, showing classics and new producers, discovering new terroirs, and emphasizing the most renowned. Well done,” said jury member Federico Moccia.
Sommelier Holly Willcocks, Mountain, was overwhelmed on stage when she received the Grand Prix.
”It's such a pleasure and honor. It's been such a fun task putting the list together, and I’m just glad that other people seem to agree. For us, it's always been about finding wines that come from beautiful places, made by kind people that treat the soil, the land, and the people respectfully. And generally on the lower intervention side, but we've always been looking to reach towards those cleaner styles of wines that suit a Soho location a little bit better,” said Holly Willcocks.
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
The category is presented by Matteo Lupi Wines
Gold Star:
Mountain, London
”This venue has thoroughly taken small producers and terroir-driven wines to its heart. Each wine is chosen carefully and the list gives stage both for established producers and future stars. It would be hard to choose what not to drink,” said the jury’s Heidi Mäkinen.
Silver Stars:
Authentique Epicerie & Bar, London
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford
Core by Clare Smyth, London
La Compagnie des vins surnaturels Seven Dials, London
Les 110 de Taillevent, London
Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit Street, London
Noble Rot Mayfair, London
Noble Rot Soho, London
The Clove Club, London
The Ledbury, London
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognizes the best wine list with 200-600 references.
The category is presented by Luigi Bosca
Gold Star:
Etch by Steven Edwards, Brighton
”Smart, progressive list focusing largely on smaller, independent producers from around the world and highlighting diversity of English sparkling wines,” said jury member Piotr Pietras about the winning list.
For Sam Weatherill, sommelier and restaurant manager at Etch, the award is a testament to the consistent work being put into the wine list at Etch.
”It's an amazing recognition to have. We've been developing the wine list over the last five or six years, pushing it slowly, trying to work on it every week as best as we can. And it's nice for us to show that there are places outside the big city where you can still drink great wines and have a great meal," said Sam Weatherill.
Silver Stars:
Blandford Comptoir, London
Brat, London
Climat, Manchester
Doppo, London
Ekstedt at the Yard, London
Leroy, London
Trivet, London
Where The Light Gets In, Manchester
Wild Corner, London
Best Short List
– Recognizes the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Gold Star:
Hjem, Wall, Hexham
”A beautifully crafted list with care put into the selection of everything from aperitif, beer, wine, coffee, etc. A list with a focus on natural wines with exciting choices in this category and fair prices,” said jury member Julie Dupouy-Young.
Martin Waugh, sommelier and restaurant manager at Hjem, was thrilled to receive this year’s award for Best Short List:
”It’s a fantastic honour, and it means a lot to be recognised for what we do. London is the heart and soul of beverage in the UK, but it's nice to get some representation outside of the city. So, we're really, really fortunate and privileged that we have the opportunity,” said Martin Waugh.
Silver Stars:
Bar Crispin, London
Dinings SW3, London
Ikoyi, London
Levan, London
Sollip, London
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognizes the best list with wines from Austria
The category is presented by Austrian Wine
Gold Star:
Newcomer Wines, London
”A comprehensive look at the natural wine scene in Austria. Very impressive line up!” said jury member Rajat Parr.
Newcomer Wines won the award for the second time, and general manager Harry East had this to say about what's next for Newcomer Wines:
”I love Star Wine List, and I love supporting Austrian wine. I think we're going to try and expand our menu further, branch out, try and tackle some other countries too. Obviously, Austria is always going to be at our heart and core, but it's always nice to see what the rest of the world is doing too.”
Silver Stars:
Chez Bruce, London
Ekstedt at the Yard, London
Moor Hall, Aughton
The Ledbury, London
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognizes the best list with sparkling wines.
The category is presented by Nyetimber
Gold Star:
Les 110 de Taillevent, London
”A balanced list between growers and maisons, offering great depth and a wide selection of different vintages,” said jury member Federico Moccia.
It was not the first time Les 110 de Taillevent took home the award for Best Sparkling Wine List.
”I realise we’ve won for the third time in a row in this category, so that’s nice. I think we have a nice broad range, every style, every price point, both something easy and something super complex. And smaller growers mixed with bigger houses. Just after submitting the wine list, we actually added a bit more. So now it's even broader,” said sommelier Lukasz Kuszela.
Silver Stars:
Core by Clare Smyth, London
La Compagnie des vins surnaturels Seven Dials, London
Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit Street, London
Noble Rot Mayfair, London
Noble Rot Soho, London
NoMad London, London
The Clove Club, London
The Grill by Tom Booton, London
The Ledbury, London
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury
Best By the Glass List
– Recognizes the best by the glass list.
Gold Star:
Noble Rot Mayfair, London
”A beautiful by-the-glass list that offers various artisanal wines from Europe. Great choice both style and price-wise. Two serving sizes are an added value,” said the jury’s Piotr Pietras.
Silver Stars:
Core by Clare Smyth, London
Les 110 de Taillevent, London
Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit Street, London
Noble Rot Soho, London
The Clove Club, London
The Five Fields, London
The Ledbury, London
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury
Wild Corner, London
Best California Wine List
– Recognizes the best list with wines from California
The category is presented by Louis M. Martini
Gold Star:
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury
”A deep look into California’s top wines. A remarkable collection with depth and width,” said jury member Rajat Parr.
Silver Stars:
Claridge's Restaurant, London
Core by Clare Smyth, London
Dovetale, London
The Clove Club, London
Best Newcomer List
– Recognizes a venue that recently opened
The category is presented by DAOU
Gold Star:
Mountain, London
”A superb list altogether. Clever layout and selection. A list put together with taste, skills and soul,” said Julie Dupouy-Young.
Silver Stars:
Bistro Freddie, London
Claridge's Restaurant, London
Dovetale, London
Gouqi Restaurant, London
Noble Rot Mayfair, London
Sustainable Wine List
– For the Sustainable Wine List category, not only the wine list is evaluated, but also the stated actions of the venue, as described through a questionnaire in the application.
The category is presented by Premium Estates of Austria
Gold Star:
Apricity, London
”Apricity follow best sustainable practices: they prioritise biodiversity and indigenous grape varieties, work with conscious, organic producers only and also list local, British wines. No paper is used, just a digital wine list. Proper wine wastage and carbon footprint management (ie. BiBs, refillable bottles, etc.),” said Piotr Pietras about the winning list.
Silver Stars:
BOYS AND GIRLS., Cardigan
Hjem, Wall, Hexham
Moor Hall, Aughton
Seabird, London
Spry, Edinburgh
Trivet, London
Where The Light Gets In, Manchester
Wild Shropshire, Whitchurch, Shropshire
NATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Best New Zealand List
– Recognizes the best list with wines from New Zealand
The category is presented by New Zealand Wine
Gold Star:
The Terrace Rooms & Wine, Ventnor
”This restaurant has a broad selection including top producers and some mature wines, showing how New Zealand can produce world class wines of different varieties. The diversity of different producers and styles is exemplary and well worth acknowledging,” said the jury’s Heidi Mäkinen.
When you're a small restaurant far from London, an acknowledgement like this means a great deal, said Tom Fahey, chef-owner of The Terrace Rooms & Wine:
”It really means a lot to us. We're not London, we don't have a Michelin star. It’s literally us, a kitchen porter, and a waitress. And I really think (NZ wines, ed.) is such an unexplored category. New Zealand doesn't have quite as many prestigious producers as other places, so it gets overlooked a little bit.”
Silver Stars:
HIDE, London
OXO Tower Restaurant, London
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury
Jury
The jury of our fourth UK awards was filled with sommelier champions:
• Heidi Mäkinen MW
• Piotr Pietras MS
• Julie Dupouy-Young
• Federico Moccia
• Raj Parr
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 2024, 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.
Do like the Pros - search 2500+ wine lists
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.
Bibendum
Bibendum is one of the UK’s most successful drinks businesses. As a premium wine and spirits partner, we are a countrywide specialist for the On Trade, supplying wine to 13% of the market.
DAOU
Read more about DAOU by clicking on the logo.
Louis M. Martini
Louis M. Martini is an iconic Californian wine producer. Read more by clicking on the logo.
Luigi Bosca
Luigi Bosca is a wine producer in Mendoza with over 120 years of history.
Matteo Lupi Wines
Matteo Lupi Wines is a fine wine specialist supplying the UK’s fine dining trade with rare wines. Read more by clicking the logo.
New Zealand Wine
The national organisation for the New Zealand's grape and wine industry.
Nyetimber
English sparkling producer Nyetimber is the leading producer of sparkling wine in the country.
