Star Wine List of the Year Switzerland 2025 – meet the finalists!
From Geneva to St. Moritz, up to Zürich and Rehetobel, our jury has now decided the finalists in our Swiss wine list competition. Who’s made the cut?
Star Wine List of the Year Switzerland 2025 will be held in Zurich on 19 May. We are excited to be celebrating the country’s wine lists (and their creators) for the third time, with our first physical event dedicated solely to Switzerland.
Sommeliers Nina Jensen, Reeze Choi and Bertrand Lutaud MS (also our Geneva Ambassador) have considered all entries, and we are pleased to announce their finalists in eight out of the nine categories that will be announced in May; the event’s highest award, the Grand Prix, will be decided from amongst the winners of the Best Short, Medium-Sized and Long List categories.
Switzerland’s 31 finalists are spread across 17 locations, including major cities like Zürich, Geneva, Lucerne and Lausanne, and the alpine hub St. Moritz. In the running for Gold Stars are Swiss winners from last year’s combined competition alongside Austria and Germany: Colonnade (Lucerne), Napa Grill (Zürich), Park Hotel Vitznau, and Opfikon’s Wunderbrunnen.
Since all categories in this competition are international, it means that all Gold Star recipients will go on to compete in the Star Wine List of the Year International Final, which will be hosted in Vienna in June 2025.
But first, scroll down to meet this year’s finalists across Switzerland.
Judges
The jury panel for Star Wine List of the Year Switzerland 2025 includes three top sommeliers:
• Bertrand Lutaud – Master Sommelier and Star Wine List's Geneva Ambassador
• Nina Jensen – Second-Best Sommelier of the World, 2019 and 2023 (ASI)
• Reeze Choi – Third-Best Sommelier of the World 2023 (ASI)
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:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Chez Bacchus, Geneva
Chez Smith, Zürich
Einstein, St. Gallen
Inda-Bar, Geneva
Sven Wassmer Memories, Bad Ragaz
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
Pic at Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne
Restaurant Le Chat Botté, at Hotel Beau Rivage, Geneva
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references.
Finalists:
Bombar, Geneva
Colonnade, Lucerne
Donatz Wine Bar, Samedan
Gallo, Geneva
Matière, Geneva
Njorden, Aubonne
Osteria della Bottega, Geneva
Restaurant La Riva, Lenzerheide
Silex Restaurant, Zürich
Best Short List
– Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Finalists:
169 West, Zürich
57° Grill, Lausanne
Lotti, Zürich
Restaurant Trübli, Winterthur
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best ‘by the glass’ list.
Finalists:
Chez Bacchus, Geneva
Chez Smith, Zürich
Colonnade, Lucerne
La Bonne Cave Luzern, Lucerne
Sven Wassmer Memories, Bad Ragaz
Njorden, Aubonne
Pic at Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne
The Chedi Andermatt, Andermatt
The Restaurant at The Dolder Grand, Zürich
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
This category is presented by Nyetimber
Finalists:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Chez Smith, Zürich
Dorfhus Gupf, Rehetobel
Einstein, St. Gallen
Grace La Margna, St. Moritz
Inda-Bar, Geneva
Sven Wassmer Memories, Bad Ragaz
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
The Restaurant at The Dolder Grand, Zürich
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
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 Chateau Galoupet
Finalists:
169 West, Zürich
Auberge de l’Abbaye de Montheron, Lausanne
Bombar, Geneva
Lotti, Zürich
Viniviva Wein, Dübendorf
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from Austria.
This category is presented by Austrian Wine
Finalists:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Dorfhus Gupf, Rehetobel
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
Restaurant La Riva, Lenzerheide
Viniviva Wein, Dübendorf
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
Best California Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from California
This category is presented by Pahlmeyer
Finalists:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Chez Smith, Zürich
Donatz Wine Bar, Samedan
Napa Grill, Zürich
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
The Chedi Andermatt, Andermatt
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
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.
Nyetimber
English sparkling producer Nyetimber is the leading producer of sparkling wine in the country.
Chateau d’Esclans
Read more about Chateau d’Esclans by clicking on the logo.
Château Galoupet
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