Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2022 – here are all the winners

International categories

The winners in the international categories are all qualified to the international final of Star Wine List of The Year in June.

Grand Prix

– Finland’s best wine list with more than 600 references

Finalists:
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki

Winner:
Savoy, Helsinki

"Really good list, full of classic producers, regions and styles, as well as a wider selection on new world wines. The list is precise and easy to read," says jury member Salvatore Castano, Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa 2021, about the winning list.

Krister Bengtsson, Star Wine List's founder, handed out the award to Aleksi Mehtonen, sommelier at Savoy, live on stage in Helsinki.

"It’s about time to get it back to Savoy. There was one missed year, so thank you," said Aleksi with a smile when receiving the diploma.

Best Austrian Wine List

– Recognises the best wine list with Austrian wine. The category is presented by Austrian Wine

Finalists:
Grape Wine Bar, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki

Winner:
Palace, Helsinki

"This was certainly the most accurate and interesting selection of Austrian Wines," says Salvatore Castano about the winning list.

Best Medium-Sized List

– Recognizes the best list with 200-600 references.

Finalists:
BasBas Kulma, Helsinki
Bronda, Helsinki
Carelia, Helsinki
Demo, Helsinki
Vin-Vin, Helsinki

Winner:
Carelia, Helsinki

"A well presented, easy to read list, with quite a few verticals and many older vintages. A clear focus and very affordable pricing round it all off," says jury member Véronique Rivest, Best Sommelier of Canada.

Best By the Glass List

– Recognizes the best by-the-glass list

Finalists:
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Ravintola Sump!, Helsinki
Vinho, Turku
Viinitupa Vuorenmaja, Mäntää
Vin-Vin, Helsinki

Winner:
Vinho, Turku

"By far the most extensive by the glass offering, with great diversity in origins, styles and prices," says Véronique Rivest in the jury.

Pietari Paakkola at Vinho says:

"It is amazing to get recognized in the category that is the most important for our concept. We want our customers to be able to taste many different wines, and that is why we offer all our wines by the glass. Our goal was to create a wine bar we would like to visit ourselves."

He says that the philosophy of the wine list is to "offer a wine experience".

"We have a 'Sommeliers choice' option, where our sommeliers choose 3-5 different surprise wines to taste. The guests can choose either country, style or grape variety, and we pour small portions of these wines."

Best Sparkling Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with sparkling wine

Finalists:
Carelia, Helsinki
Demo, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki

Winner:
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki

"Good mix of houses and growers, very deep verticals, detailed notes on each producer and extremely good value!" says Véronique Rivest.

Special Jury Prize

– Recognizes a venue that has done something extra with their wine list, such as the direction, the style or the value.

Finalists:
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Restaurant C, Tampere
Vin-Vin, Helsinki

Winner:
Restaurant C, Tampere

"An absolutely unseen concept, but so meaningful, and probably a future path for the wine industry. This great idea reveals how Restaurant C cares about their guests, their experience, and the wines they serve. Bravo!" says Pascaline Lepeltier.

Star Wine List's founder Krister Bengtsson handed out the award on stage in Helsinki, and asked Restaurant C's sommelier Christina Suominen:

"You have a wine list where people can bid for the wines, how did you come up with that idea?"

”I think that we have a lot of restaurants where, when you put the real price on the list, it's not fair for the wine anymore, it's too much. So I decided to let the customer decide what they want to give the restaurant for serving the wine in clean glasses, cellaring it and all that. So we list the price we're buying the wine for, and the customers can say what they are ready to pay – and we take it or we don’t take it," said Christina.

Best Short List

– Recognizes the best list with up to 200 references

Finalists:
Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki
Emo, Helsinki
Farang, Helsinki
Lucy in the sky, Espoo
Vinho, Turku
Wino, Helsinki

Winner:
Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki

"A very well-crafted shortlist exploring vignerons-driven, terroir-expressive wines. Priced very fairly, the choices are diverse enough to enjoy a broad array of styles, some with a little age too. Also, nice design!" says jury member Pascaline Lepeltier.

National category

The national category is held only for Finland.

Best German Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with German wine. The category is presented by Wines of Germany

Finalists:
Carelia, Helsinki
Demo, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki

Winner:
Carelia, Helsinki

"A list with great diversity, some back vintages, and also well priced," says jury member Pascaline Lepeltier, Best Sommelier of France, about Carelia's winning list.

Fellow jury member Salvatore Castano says:

"Such an incredible focus on German wines, well organised and well made. Great selection from the most important Anbaugebiete."