Aubergine wins double in first Star Wine List of the Year South Africa

Photo: Tahier Parker.
Krister Bengtsson
Published 04-October-2022
News / South Africa

On Oct. 4, Star Wine List celebrated the great wine lists of South Africa for the first time, in cooperation with the South African Sommeliers Association (SASA). Aubergine Restaurant in Cape Town won two categories: Grand Prix and Best Sparkling Wine List. Venues in Cape Town and Johannesburg won the most awards.

”A superbly curated selection of wines, not only showcasing highlights from the Cape – even from the 1970s! – but also carefully chosen vigneron champagnes, matured Rieslings and many off-the beaten track choices, even in smaller wine producing countries like New Zealand,” says jury member Marc Almert, Best Sommelier of the World 2019, about Aubergine’s winning wine list.

The first ever Star Wine List of the Year South Africa was held during a live event at the Champagne Telmont Best Young Sommelier of South Africa event in Stellenbosch on Oct. 4. Star Wine List's jury member Tawanda Marume and ambassador manager Liora Levi hosted the celebration.

All in all, 23 finalist venues and their wine lists competed for Gold Stars in seven different categories.

And the winners are...


Ralph Reynolds and Harald Bresselschmidt, Aubergine, and Brandon Parker from Winterhalter, flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Grand Prix

– Recognizes the best wine list with over 600 listings. The category is presented by Winterhalter

Finalists:
Aubergine Restaurant, Cape Town
Café du Vin, Franschhoek
Noop, Paarl
Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Johannesburg

Winner:
Aubergine Restaurant, Cape Town

Sommelier Ralph Reynolds at Aubergine commented:

”It feels pretty awesome! I have been looking at our wine list for I don’t know how long and I keep finding something out of line, something out of place. At one point you have to stop and just submit and just walk away. The wine list is always changing and every month I try to upload so that Star Wine List is always up to date. We are always buying wine so it’s not just for tomorrow, it’s for five years ahead. If you want to know what we bought this year, pick up the wine list in five years time!”



Matt Manning, Caroline Ngwenya, Keize Mumba at Culture Wine Bar, flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Best Medium-Sized List

– Recognizes the best list with 200-600 references.

Finalists:
Culture Wine Bar, Cape Town
Ellerman House, Cape Town
FYN Restaurant, Cape Town
Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel, Pretoria
Marble Restaurant, Johannesburg
Signature Restaurant, Johannesburg

Winner:
Culture Wine Bar, Cape Town

"Fantastic wine list with loads of fun and discoveries. Blend of quirky and well-known wines. Lovely representation of local and international producers. Tradition meets the modernity. Well done!" said the jury’s Piotr Pietras, Master Sommelier.

Event host Liora Levi asked Matt Manning from Culture Wine Bar what this meant for them.

"I am super proud of my team... It is fantastic, we opened in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic with nothing but a tight budget and hope that the world would return to people sharing wine and coming together. We didn’t start with a huge backer or a huge budget. We have grown this slowly and steadily over the last two years by working with the most incredible wineries in South Africa, and also have them be part of our wine library which is our member club upstairs. And to have the opportunity to list wines from around the world. That is kind of our formula and niche. We do it with great pride and yes, it’s incredible," Matt Manning said.

Michelle Moller at La Colombe flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Best Short List

– Recognizes the best list with up to 200 references

Finalists:
ëlgr restaurant, Cape Town
La Colombe, Constantia
Lanzerac Taphuis, Stellenbosch
Proud Mary, Johannesburg
Simon Wine Emporium, Stellenbosch
The Charles, Cape Town

Winner:
La Colombe, Constantia

”This was a well contested category with a lot of entries but a well deserved award for La Colombe for the diversity, creativity and balance of their list. It is great to note most wine lists submitted in this category, and the finalists, co-relate to the growing wine drinking culture in South Africa by offering not only popular brands but also some boutique wine producers who would otherwise not be bought as a bottle,” says local sommelier expert jury member Tawanda Marume, Best Sommelier of Zimbabwe 2020.

Sommelier Michelle Moller at La Colombe commented:

”Quite surprised but really wonderfully surprised. Very honoured, and absolutely love it. We’ll be there for the international final!”

Best By the Glass List

– Recognizes the best by-the-glass list

Finalists:
Café du Vin, Franschhoek
Culture Wine Bar, Cape Town
ëlgr restaurant, Cape Town
Marble Restaurant, Johannesburg
Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Johannesburg
Simon Wine Emporium, Stellenbosch

Winner:
Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Johannesburg

”A very important category for the wine industry. It offers the opportunity to be introduced to new wines, and the Saxon Hotel & Spa delivers ahead of everyone in this category with a lot of options covering different styles and some prestige names under Coravin,” says local jury expert Tawanda Marume.

”I am really excited for the wine industry in South Africa, this category has some of the most interesting and engaging choices; that made it hard to choose an outright winner. Well done to the restaurants.”



Ralph Reynolds and Harald Bresselschmidt, Aubergine, flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Best Sparkling Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with sparkling wine.

Finalists:
Aubergine Restaurant, Cape Town
Marble Restaurant, Johannesburg
Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Johannesburg
SanDeck Sandton Sun, Johannesburg
Zioux, Johannesburg

Winner:
Aubergine Restaurant, Cape Town

”A bright and modern Champagne list represented by several quality growers and some very well-respected houses too. The list also displays Méthode Cap Classique producers – not only well-established but also the lesser-known ones – all contrastive to each other both in terms of age and style,” says Master Sommelier Piotr Pietras.



Le Roi van de Vyver, ëlgr, flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Sustainable Wine List

– Recognizes a wine list that has put extra emphasis on the wine program’s impact, including wine growing, winemaking, packaging and transport.

Winner:
ëlgr restaurant, Cape Town

”A succinct list with a strong focus on sustainability, both within the choices on the list as well as the way of working. A focus on local producers – not only wineries – and even the hopefully soon more wide-spread idea to serve some wines by the glass ’on tap’. All the best for the future years!” says jury member Marc Almert, Best Sommelier of the World 2019.

Le Roi van de Vyver, sommelier at Ëlgr commented:

”I am very excited about it. It is quite awesome… and a lot of the wineries are really open-minded. We’ve had so many tastings in the last few weeks and just seeing how they are using renewable energy and reusing water and just looking after their vineyards has been so amazing.”

Lisa de Beer, Embarc, flanked by Tawanda Marume and Liora Levi. Photo: Tahier Parker.

Special Jury Prize

– Recognizes a venue that has done something extra with their wine list, such as the direction, the style or the value. The category is presented by TOPS at SPAR.

Finalists:
Embarc, Johannesburg
Folk Café, Cape Town
Penny Noire, Cape Town
Silver Orange, Hartbeespoort
The Service Station Wine Bar, Rosendal

Winner:
Embarc, Johannesburg

"We all know how challenging the last couple of years have been for the South African wine and hospitality industries. Thus, it is heartwarming to learn about passion projects such as Embarc who have been able to create something meaningful for the people associated with it, highlighting the incredible quality of South African wines,” says jury member Heidi Mäkinen, Master of Wine and President Finnish Sommelier Association about the winning wine list.

”By giving this prize to Embarc we wanted to encourage people to follow their dreams and trust that anything is possible when you believe in it.”

Lisa de Beer, Embarc, commented:

”We are so excited about this, honestly we did not think we were going to win anything. We don’t have the numbers, we’ve got close to 100 wines, but for us it is about showcasing South African wines. Food and wine are connected for us. When you come across a bad list people talk about it but when you come across a good list, not enough people speak about a great wine list. And that is why we are so thankful to this competition because it is shining a light on great lists and bringing energy to an industry that needs a little bit of a push and some excitement. It’s not just about the food, it’s about the food and wine.”


The winners in South Africa will be qualified for the International Final in June 2023. There, the South African winners will face wine lists and teams from Scandinavia, UK, Germany and more.

Star Wine List's top sommelier jury, clockwise from top left: Tawanda Marume, Heidi Mäkinen, Piotr Petras and Marc Almert.

THE JURY

The jury consist of three world-class sommeliers from our International Jury Panel:

  • Heidi Mäkinen, Master of Wine, President Finnish Sommelier Association
  • Marc Almert, Best Sommelier of the World 2019
  • Piotr Pietras, Master Sommelier

And as the local sommelier expert jury member, based in Johannesburg:

  • Tawanda Marume, Best Sommelier of Zimbabwe 2020

To read more about how we judge wine lists, see the link below.

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