Record number of finalists in Star Wine List of the Year Sweden

By Andreas Grube

Published 21-March-2024

News / Sweden

With far more than 100 wine lists entered into the Swedish celebration 2024, the jury selected a record number of finalists: 59! "This is probably the greatest collection of wine lists I have ever seen," said jury member Rajat Parr during the jury call.

Rajat Parr, renowned sommelier, author and nowadays also winemaker is a fan of Sweden and its wine scene. He travels there every year to present wines, taste wines, see friends and of course - go to restaurants.

In the 2024 Sweden jury he was accompanied by three top sommeliers: Kathrine Larsen, a Master Sommelier based in London; Salvatore Castano, ASI Best Sommelier of Europe, also based in London and Nina Jensen, the wine director of Alchemist in Copenhagen and twice the runner up in the ASI Best Sommelier of the World competitions.

Kathrine Larsen MS; Rajat Parr; Salvatore Castano; Nina Jensen.

"It is the sixth time we are celebrating the wine lists in Sweden and the great teams behind them and we are happy to have such a strong showing. This year we have also introduced a few new categories including the Best Beaujolais List and Best Bourgogne List - both gathering many strong finalists. We can't wait to celebrate with all the finalists in Stockholm in April," said Krister Bengtsson, founder and publisher of Star Wine List.

Sweden is a part of our 2023-2024 International tour of wine lists celebrations including South Africa, UK and New York to name a few. Star Wine List of the Year Sweden will be held on April 8 in Stockholm.

And here are all the finalists:

International Categories:

Grand Prix

– The best list overall - selected from the winners of Long, Medium and Short lists.

Finalists:
The winner will be announced at the event.

Best Long List

– For wine lists with more than 600 references

Finalists:
Aira, Stockholm
Eriksberg Vilt & Natur, Trensum
Ett Hem, Stockholm
Grand Hotel Lund, Lund
Grand Hôtel, Stockholm
Granen, Åre
Hotell Borgholm, Borgholm
Leijontornet, Stockholm
Operakällaren, Stockholm
PM & Vänner, Växjö
Restaurang AG, Stockholm
ÄNG, Tvååker

Best Medium-Sized Wine List

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

Finalists:
Agnes, Stockholm
Bouchon, Malmö
Café Nizza, Stockholm
Ekstedt, Stockholm
Farang, Stockholm
Fjällnäs Restaurant, Tänndalen
Folii, Stockholm
Mathias Dahlgren – Matbaren, Stockholm
Restaurang Nisch, Stockholm

Best Short List

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

Finalists:
Babette, Stockholm
Bord, Stockholm
Café Cuvée, Stockholm
Combo Vinbaren, Stockholm
Frö, Sälen
Lyran Matbar, Malmö
Petri, Stockholm
Restaurang Triton, Stockholm
Woodstockholm, Stockholm
Åre Nature Studio, Duved, Åre

Best Austrian Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from Austria

Best Sparkling Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with sparkling wines.

Best California Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from California

Best By the Glass List

– Recognizes the best by the glass list.

Best Newcomer List

The category is presented by Vintedge

Finalists:
Brasserie Draken, Gothenburg
Cafe Klotet, Stockholm
Freyja, Stockholm
Teddys, Stockholm
Vyn, Simrishamn

Sustainable Wine List

– For the Sustainable Wine List category, not only the wine list is evaluated, but also the stated actions of the venue, as described through a questionnaire in the application

Local Categories:

Best Beaujolais Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from Beaujolais

Best German Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from Germany

Best Swedish Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from Sweden

Finalists:
Freyja, Stockholm
Hörte Brygga, Skivarp
Julie, Malmö
Sankt Jörgen Park, Gothenburg
Spiseriet, Varberg
Swedish Wine Center, Malmö
Sydkustens at Pillehill, Skivarp
ÄNG, Tvååker

Best Bourgogne Wine List

– Recognizes the best list with wines from Bourgogne

The winners in the international categories will qualify for our International Final in June 2024, where they will face off with the category winners from other countries and continents.

Jury

The jury of our Swedish awards is filled with top international sommeliers and wine experts:
• Nina Højgaard Jensen, Second Best Sommelier of the World 2019 & 2023 (ASI)
• Rajat Parr, renowned sommelier and winemaker
• Salvatore Castano, Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2021 (ASI)
• Kathrine Larsen-Robert, Master Sommelier

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.

Read about the terms and how Star Wine List judges the wine lists here.

Do like the Pros - search 2500+ wine lists

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.

Inter Beaujolais

Inter Beaujolais, the Beaujolais wine council, is a private organisation recognised by the French government, bringing together partners from the winegrowing industry, upstream and down.

Albert Bichot