The best wine lists in Finland – the finalists

The jury for Star Wine List of the Year Finland: Piotr Pietras MS, Julie Dupouy-Young, Jan Konetzki and Terhi Oksanen-Alén.

By Andreas Grube

Published 27-April-2023

News / Finland

On 22 May, Star Wine List will celebrate the best wine lists in Finland – for the fourth time. The celebration is a part of our international tour and the winners in the international categories in Finland will move on to compete against the winners from many other countries in the international final in June 2023. Today we can reveal all the finalists in Finland!

In May, Star Wine List once again returns to Finland to celebrate the best wine lists, and the teams behind them, in the country. The first Star Wine List celebration in Finland took place in 2020, and this is the fourth time the competition is held in Finland.

The event is judged by a line-up of exceptional judges: Piotr Pietras MS, Julie Dupouy-Young, Jan Konetzki, and Terhi Oksanen-Alén. (Note: Terhi Oksanen-Alén has not scored venues in the Muru group due to personal connections. This is standard procedure for our awards.)

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 so simple: Vote for the most exciting wine list representing the category.

And – here are all the finalists:

International Categories:

Best Austrian Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with Austrian wines.

Grand Prix

– The best wine list with more than 600 references.

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

Best Medium-Sized Wine List

– Recognizes the best wine list with 200-600 references.

Finalists:
Basbas Kulma, Helsinki
Pastis, Helsinki
Carelia, Helsinki
Apotek, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Omadi Bar & Bistro, Helsinki

Best Short List

– Recognizes the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.

Finalists:
BasBas - Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki
Wino, Helsinki
Muru Winebar, Helsinki
Grape Wine Bar, Helsinki
Kuurna, Helsinki
Gaijin, Helsinki
Sekel Bar & Restaurant, Helsinki

Best Sparkling Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with sparkling wines.

Best By the Glass List

– Recognizes the best by the glass list.

Finalists:
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Vinho, Turku
The Tasting Room, Turku
Viinitupa Vuorenmaja, Mänttä
Omadi Bar & Bistro, Helsinki
The Plaza Wine & Craft Beer, Helsinki

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:
The winner will be announced at the event.

Sustainable Wine List

– This award evaluates both the venue's wine list and how they work sustainably at the venue

The category is presented by Viinitie

Finalists:
Basbas Kulma, Helsinki
Wino, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki

The winners in the international categories will qualify for our International Final in June, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries and continents, such as South Africa, Australia, UK and Sweden.

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.

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