Meet the finalists in Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2025
For the sixth time, we are celebrating the very best wine lists in Finland, and the talented teams that have created them. Here's who's made the cut in this year's competition!
On 17 March, the Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2025 awards will be held at the Peloton Cycling Eatery in Helsinki, alongside the annual Best Sommelier of Finland contest.
The jury panel has now finished deliberating, so we can reveal the wine bars and restaurants battling it out for Gold Stars. Scroll down to meet them all.
Winners in the international categories will automatically be entered into the Star Wine List of the Year International Final, which will be held in Vienna this June.
Judges
The three wine experts judging Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2025 are:
• Heidi Mäkinen – Master of Wine
• Mikk Parre – Best Sommelier of Europe, Africa & The Middle East 2024
• Stefan Neumann – Master Sommelier
Finalists
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list of the overall competition.
The finalists and winner will be announced at the event.
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
Finalists:
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references.
Finalists:
Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki
Café Savoy, Helsinki
Demo, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pastis, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Lilja, Helsinki
Best Short List
– Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Finalists:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Kuurna, Helsinki
Muru Winebar, Helsinki
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Salutorget, Helsinki
Wellamo, Helsinki
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best ‘by the glass’ list.
Finalists:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
Muru Winebar, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Vinho, Turku
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
Finalists:
Café Savoy, Helsinki
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Lilja, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
Best Newcomer List
– Recognises a venue that has recently opened.
Finalists:
Bouchon Carême, Helsinki
Ravintola Laivakoira, Helsinki
Sustainable Wine List
– Recognises a wine list that has put extra emphasis on the wine program’s overall impact, including vine growing, winemaking, packaging and transport.
Finalists:
Kaskis, Turku
Le Ankka, Helsinki
Nolla, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Wellamo, Helsinki
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Austria.
This category is presented by Austrian Wine
Finalists:
Grape Wine bar, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
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 2025, 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.
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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.
