”Tight competition” in Finland – here are all the winners
On April 15 Star Wine List returned to Finland to celebrate the best wine lists and the teams behind them for the fifth time. Savoy and Café Savoy were the big winners with two Gold Stars each. Here are all the winners!
”Throughout the competition, we encountered incredible wine lists. In numerous categories, selecting a winner was a challenge due to the exceptional quality of the entries. Particularly among the medium and short lists we had a really tight competition,” said jury member Salvatore Castano, Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2021, about judging the wine lists that entered the competition.
Finland is included to our 2023-2024 International tour, and this was the fifth time we were running it in Finland. The event was held in Helsinki, together with the Finnish Sommelier Championship at the beautiful Jugend style Glo Art Hotel in Helsinki.
"The wine scene in Finland is small but it is dynamic and it is great to see the development of the finalists this year," said Krister Bengtsson, founder and publisher.
The winners in Finland all qualified for the International Final in Stockholm in June.
Here are all the winners:
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list overall
Gold Star:
Café Savoy, Helsinki
”Thank you! It’s an honour. Going forward, we want to keep our eyes open, try new stuff,” said sommelier Juhana Patjas on stage.
Will the list grow longer and you’ll end up in the long category or this size good?
”We think the size is good. We also want to thank Aleksi Mehtonen (of Savoy) as well, because if he would not have been leading us, we wouldn’t be here,” said sommelier Heidi Reis.
"This is a very well-created list that manages to cover not only world classics and collector items, but also quirkier wines. All producers are of top quality and there are diverse styles to pick from, ensuring the wine experience will be excellent," said jury member Heidi Mäkinen, Master of Wine.
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
Gold Star:
Savoy, Helsinki
”Thank you! I think the size of the list is good as it is now, and not everything is listed either. We have wines in ageing that is not on it, it’s about a fifth of the list. We don’t want to make it hard for the guests to navigate it,” said Santeri Lankinen, sommelier at Savoy.
"The winning list has great breadth and depth, regionally, but also when it comes to diversity of producers – the classics are there, but there's also sprinklings of more modern expressions. The list also offers great drinkability in terms of maturity of vintages. Well done," said jury member Kathrine Larsen-Robert, Master Sommelier.
Silver Stars:
Muru Wine Bar, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Best Medium-Sized List
– Recognizes the best wine list with 200-600 references.
The category is presented by Louis M. Martini
Gold Star:
Café Savoy, Helsinki
The prize came with a great timing as it was sommelier Heidi Reis’ birthday.
”Thank you, it feels amazing, the best birthday gift ever!” she said. ”It all started when Juhana came to the team about a year ago, and I think we haven’t yet shown what we are capable of.”
What are you planning to do, Juhana?
”Well, it’s all changing all the time so basically it’s about getting better and better. It’s a nice journey as well,” Juhana said.
"A wine list that pays tributes to European wine regions and offers a great balance between timeless and contemporary producers. The list is crafted with care and taste and offers an excellent diversity of styles and prices," said jury member Julie Dupouy-Young, several times named the Best Sommelier of Ireland.
Silver Stars:
Apotek, Helsinki
Baskeri & Basso, Helsinki
BRASA, Helsinki
Bronda, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pastis, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Best Short List
– Recognizes the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings.
Gold Star:
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
”Thank you I am so happy! We are changing our selection every seven or eight weeks and of course we are constantly thinking about what is next,” said Pöllöwaari's Ulla Häkkinen.
"A concise and approachable list with diversity and many good names," said the jury's Kathrine Larsen-Robert.
Silver Stars:
Brasserie Alexanderplats, Helsinki
Emo, Helsinki
Farang, Helsinki
Grape Wine Bar, Helsinki
Le Coucou Vert, Helsinki
Restaurant Adlerfelt, Helsinki
Salutorget, Helsinki
Sekel Bar & Restaurant, Helsinki
Best Austrian Wine List
– Recognizes the best list with wines from Austria
The category is presented by Austrian Wine
Gold Star:
Savoy, Helsinki
”We like to keep our Austrian selection quite simple but good coverage of the regions and producers. And what is great with Austria is that you have availability of back vintages that you can actually buy and serve by the glass," said Santeri Lankinen, sommelier at Savoy.
"We chose to recognize this wine list as the best Austrian selection due to its inclusion of top classic producers, picturesque regions, and outstanding vintages," said jury member Salvatore Castano.
Silver Stars:
BasBas Kulma, Helsinki
Grape Wine Bar, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Palace, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Sekel Bar & Restaurant, Helsinki
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognizes the best list with sparkling wines.
The category is presented by Nyetimber
Gold Star:
Palace, Helsinki
”Thank you! Honestly, we have a really nice collaboration with Krug at the moment and we always try to have champagne on the wine pairing, we change house champagnes regularly and with the style of food we have it goes well with champagne and sparkling," said Palace's restaurant manager Liam Fahy.
"The champagnes and sparkling wines chosen on this list truly deserve their place and are given an opportunity to shine with the impeccable clarity of the list. One might think the choices would quench their thirst but the opposite might be more true!" said the jury's Heidi Mäkinen.
Silver Stars:
Bronda, Helsinki
Café Savoy, Helsinki
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
Muru Wine Bar, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pastis, Helsinki
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
Restaurant Muru, Helsinki
Savoy, Helsinki
Best By the Glass List
– Recognizes the best by the glass list.
Gold Star:
Vinho, Turku
”Thank you very much, things are going very well for Vinho and in Turku," said sommelier Anna Kiuru.
"We were impressed by the extensive variety offered on the by-the-glass list, featuring both renowned and boutique producers. The abundance of options provides an exciting opportunity to explore and discover new favourites," said jury member Salvatore Castano about the winning list.
Silver Stars:
Gaijin
Muru Wine Bar, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Pöllöwaari, Jyväskylä
Ravintola Viinille, Turku
Viinitupa Vuorenmaja, Mäntää
Best Newcomer List
– Recognizes a venue that recently opened
Gold Star:
Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki
”Thank you very much. We have only been open since November, December, and the team has done an amazing job with the list. We want to thank Savoy as well, with all of us in the building working together,” said Vili Noel-Halonen, sommelier at Minne Champagne & Wine.
"A list that caters for all palates and wallets. Balanced, interesting, fairly priced and covering both the New and the Old World," said jury member Julie Dupouy-Young.
Silver Stars:
Le Ankka, Helsinki
Le Coucou Vert, Helsinki
Scolare, Helsinki
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.
Gold Star:
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki
”Thank you! I think it’s basically the whole reason for the restaurant, sustainability. Taste comes first, but sustainability comes second for sure,” said Fanny Tuominen, Restaurant Manager at Restaurant Grön.
Do you think more should follow in your footsteps?
”100 per cent. think we should be more finalists in this category, hopefully with time.”
"A restaurant that has put sustainability at the heart of all their decisions, from food supply, energy consumption, staff member wellbeing and of course an emphasis on organic and natural wines in their list. A very impresisve program put in place in an effort to become an example of sustainable gastronomy in Finland but also abroad," said the jury's Julie Dupouy-Young.
Silver Stars:
Le Ankka, Helsinki
Nokka, Helsinki
Restaurant Adlerfelt, Helsinki
Jury
The jury of our Finnish awards is filled with top international sommeliers and wine experts:
• Kathrine Larsen-Robert, Master Sommelier
• Heidi Mäkinen, Master of Wine
• Salvatore Castano MS, Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2021 (ASI)
• Julie Dupouy-Young, several times named the Best Sommelier of Ireland
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 2024, 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.
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.
Nyetimber
English sparkling producer Nyetimber is the leading producer of sparkling wine in the country.
Louis M. Martini
Louis M. Martini is an iconic Californian wine producer. Read more by clicking on the logo.
