Meet our first Gold Star winner in Abu Dhabi – “wine culture is growing” says Ognjen Samardzic
This December’s Star Wine List of the UAE competition saw our first Gold Star awarded in Abu Dhabi, with La Petite Maison standing alongside an otherwise Dubai-dominated market. Head Sommelier Ognjen Samardzic tells us what’s special about wine in his new home city.
Ognjen Samardzic admitted to being rather surprised when he was called up on to the stage at Sexy Fish Dubai to accept the Gold Star for the Best Medium-Sized List in the United Arab Emirates, on behalf of La Petite Maison (LPM), at our recent wine list contest. After earning a Silver Star in 2024, as a finalist in the Best By-the-Glass List category, this was a joyful moment for the team.
“I can’t be more proud,” Ognjen told us over drinks, following the awards ceremony. “I mean, the prize itself is very good already, but just the fact of being the first time from Abu Dhabi, it even brings more weight to it. And it’s quite unexpected. I mean, we were secretly hoping for something but, usually, we just come here to have a good time and catch up with friends. But all of a sudden, we heard our names! It was an extremely positive surprise, so thank you very much.”
The Bosnian sommelier moved to Abu Dhabi five months ago, to look after the wine programme at LPM after two years at Ossiano, Dubai’s underwater restaurant at the Atlantis, The Palm hotel, and a spell at Malta’s immersive Bahia Restaurant.
For this year’s presentation in Dubai, Founder Krister Bengtsson was joined at Sexy Fish by two out of the competition’s four judges – current Best Sommelier of the World Raimonds Tomsons and local wine expert Vincent Truong – to present Gold Stars to the best wine lists across the UAE. In previous years (this was the third time we have held an awards event in the country), prizes have been concentrated on Dubai and yet, for 2025, our remit has expanded across the emirates with the first recognition for Abu Dhabi – a sign of more things to come, we hope.
We asked Ognjen what it means for him, his team, and Abu Dhabi more broadly.
What’s the latest on the Abu Dhabi wine scene?
“I see it as a great place to be at the moment, as it’s quite a progressive place with a lot of action, a lot of things happening, and I think it’s an amazing place to be. Wine culture is growing, restaurants are growing, wine lists are growing; more and more sommeliers are coming to an amazing place with great development. I’m extremely happy that we are the first ones to take an award for Abu Dhabi, and I think we’re going to continue this trend, hopefully.”
You’ve worked in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. What are the differences between them when it comes to gastronomy, hospitality, etc.?
“Well, gastronomy in Dubai? There’s many more brands coming over. Abu Dhabi is developing, but is still not on that level. However, when it comes to clientele, I see it’s very different. In Dubai, let’s use just one pragmatic example: if you work in a restaurant with, say, 50 tables, probably 45 tables will have wine, while in Abu Dhabi that number goes even more than half. However, I do see very high-quality clients in Abu Dhabi, meaning that these people are coming knowing what they want and, at the same time, willing to explore different things. For me, as a sommelier, what is really amazing is that less volume gives you more time to dedicate to the certain guests of the table. So we can chit-chat more about the wine and you can discuss more about the wine. Sometimes in Dubai, it’s more of a run-and-catch, while in Abu Dhabi it’s more steady, more moderate. Let’s say: less volume but really amazing quality of the guests – these guys come, they know what they want to drink, and I can spend some time with them. That's the main difference I noticed so far.”
How is supply in Abu Dhabi – can you get hold of the wines you want?
“Supply works very differently, to be honest. In Abu Dhabi, there is more competition – there’s more suppliers. Dubai is amazing also, but I do find Abu Dhabi a little bit healthier in a way because more people, more competition means, eventually, better prices. As you probably know, there is no [alcohol] tax in of 30% in Abu Dhabi, which makes a huge difference, and people find it more price friendly, which opens many doors for us. So it works differently: it’s slightly cheaper, it’s more suppliers and, in my opinion, a little bit healthier than Dubai. Dubai is amazing – nothing wrong with it – but it’s just different.”
What are your plans for the LPM wine list going forward?
“Definitely expanding a little bit more when it comes to the wine selection. There is room for improvement for the smaller suppliers and lesser-known regions, lesser-known grape varieties. I am, personally, a big fan of overlooked wines, and big names are here – big names are around, they will be always around – but we are going to definitely move in the direction of going even deeper, of exploring more and more lesser-known vineyards, wine grapes and producers, including some special imports that we’re going to do also, which brings more exclusivity and more interest overall.”
What does this win mean for you?
“I’m happy that you recognise the hard work behind the list, and the particularity of it. As you know, LPM Abu Dhabi is very particular when it comes to the concept and philosophy, so yeah, I’m really happy that it has been recognised here.”
And how are you going to celebrate your win?
“We’re going out in Dubai to celebrate it. So some nice bubbles and then a nice meal, and just get up with the team – congratulate everyone, because this is not only the wine department, this is really and truly the full team helping and being supportive. We all deserve, I think, lots of Champagne at the very end!”
Any final thoughts?
“Thank you very much, great pleasure to be here. Thanks very much to Star Wine List and the Sexy Fish restaurant for organising such an amazing event and gathering so many talented, amazing sommeliers from around the UAE.”
Meet all the winners at Star Wine List of the Year UAE 2025.
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