Star Wine List of the Year Florida 2025 – meet your finalists
On 8 May 2025, we will host the inaugural Star Wine List of the Year Florida awards ceremony in Miami, in conjunction with Vinexpo America.
Our event will honour the top wine lists of Florida and the talented sommelier teams who curate them. The jury has now decided on the competition's finalists.
Among the shortlist you'll find institutions like Bern's Steak House in Tampa, the Miami outpost of Sexy Fish (more recently opened but already renowned), the eminently elegant Boulon Brasserie & Bakery, and Mediterranean favourite Mandolin Aegean Bistro. Keep on reading to find out who the other finalists are.
The Star Wine List team can't wait to meet the venues up for Gold Stars at our Florida event, as part of a US tour that also includes New York, a few days prior.
Gold Star winners in the international categories will go on to compete in the Star Wine List of the Year International Final, which will take place in Vienna this June.
Judges
The judging panel for Star Wine List of the Year Florida 2025 includes four highly respected experts from the world of wine:
• Salvatore Castano – Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa 2021
• Kathrine Larsen-Robert – Master Sommelier and Head of Wine, Europe at 67 Pall Mall
• Pascaline Lepeltier – Best Sommelier of France 2018
• Doug Frost – Master Sommelier, Master of Wine
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.
This category is presented by Château d’Esclans
Finalists:
Bern's Steak House, Tampa
Casa Tua Restaurant, Miami Beach
COTE Miami, Miami
Fiola Miami, Miami
Haven, Tampa
Sexy Fish, Miami
The Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller, Surfside
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references.
Finalists:
Amara at Paraiso, Miami
Delilah, Miami
KLAW Restaurant, Miami
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Miami, Miami
Lafayette Steakhouse, Miami
LPM Restaurant & Bar, Miami
MAASS, Fort Lauderdale
Pastis Miami, Miami
Best Short List
– Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Finalists:
Ariete, Miami
Boia De, Miami
Boulon Brasserie & Bakery, Tampa
Casa Tua Cucina, Miami
Mandolin Aegean Bistro, Miami
Michael's Genuine, Miami
Old Vines Naples at Mercato, Naples
Otto and Pepe, Miami
Walrus Rodeo, Miami
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best 'by the glass' list.
This category is presented by La Bouche du Roi
Finalists:
Boulon Brasserie & Bakery, Tampa
Casa Tua Cucina, Miami
Casa Tua Restaurant, Miami Beach
COTE Miami, Miami
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Miami, Miami
Old Vines Naples at Mercato, Naples
Otto and Pepe, Miami
Sexy Fish, Miami
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
Finalists:
Bern's Steak House, Tampa
COTE Miami, Miami
Fiola Miami, Miami
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Miami, Miami
Sexy Fish, Miami
The Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller, Surfside
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.
This category is presented by Lingua Franca
Finalists:
Los Félix, Miami
Mandolin Aegean Bistro, Miami
Otto and Pepe, Miami
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Austria.
This category is presented by Austrian Wine
Finalists:
Bern's Steak House, Tampa
COTE Miami, Miami
Fiola Miami, Miami
Haven, Tampa
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Miami, Miami
Michael's Genuine, Miami
LOCAL CATEGORIES:
Best Spanish Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Spain.
This category is presented by Familia Torres
Finalists:
Amara at Paraiso, Miami
Bern's Steak House, Tampa
Casa Juancho, Miami
COTE Miami, Miami
Fiola Miami, Miami
Haven, Tampa
KLAW Restaurant, Miami
Sexy Fish, Miami
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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Chateau d’Esclans
Read more about Chateau d’Esclans by clicking on the logo.
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.
Torres
Read more about Familia Torres by clicking on the logo.
