Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2020 – the finalists

On 31 August, Finland's best wine lists are rewarded by Star Wine List. The winners will be announced during the Finnish Sommelier Championship in Helsinki. Here are this year's finalists!

”Finland has a growing number of interesting wine lists and top sommeliers who are making their mark in the wine world. We are very excited to shine the light on their work and celebrate the top wine lists together next week in Helsinki,” says Krister Bengtsson, Star Wine List's founder and publisher.

The event will be held along with the Best Sommelier of Finland competition in Helsinki on 31 August. Due to the corona situation, few attendees can be invited. For more info on the event in Helsinki and how to attend, please see the Finnish Sommelier Association page.

The finalists have been chosen by an international top sommelier jury, more on that below. There are six categories in total, and here are all the finalists:

THE JURY
The jury for this Star Wine List of the Year event is five renowned international sommeliers with tons of competitions on their resumés:

• Arvid Rosengren
ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2016 and partner of Star Wine List, Arvid Rosengren returns to the jury duties after also having been part of the jury for Star Wine List of the Year in Sweden earlier this year. Arvid Rosengren is based in New York and heads up the wine program at the restaurant Legacy Records.

• Paz Levinson
Argentinian top sommelier Paz Levinson is based in France, where she oversees the wine program for the entire Pic restaurant group. An experienced competitor, Paz Levinson has won the Best Sommelier of Argentina and Americas.

• Pascaline Lepeltier
The influential and New York-based Lepeltier is managing partner and sommelier at Racines in Manhattan. She is also the Best Sommelier of France 2018 and has also won the prestigious title Meilleur Ouvrier de France.

• Marc Almert
Marc Almert is the current 2019 ASI Best Sommelier of the World. Marc is from Germany but is currently Head Sommelier at Baur-au-lac in Zurich, Switzerland.

• Raimonds Tomsons
Raimonds Tomsons is the ruling ASI Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa. Tomsons is the head sommelier at restaurant Vincents in Riga, Latvia.

The jury votes independently for their favourites, considering width, depth, originality and value. The aggregate score then decides the finalists and winners.

The participating wine lists come from venues that are listed by Star Wine List and have an updated list with us, and from venues that have submitted their wine list to us. Participation is free of charge.

The winners are awarded Gold stars. The runners up will earn Silver and Bronze stars. In addition to the honour and diplomas, winners of several categories will be invited to the Global Final of Star Wine List of the Year in Vienna, May 28, 2021.

The Best Austrian Wine List winner will be invited, all-inclusive, to the Global Final and to Vievinum in Vienna 2021 by Austrian Wine.