Wallsé in New York, US, has the Best Austrian Wine List
The third Star Wine List of the Year International Final was celebrated in Stockholm, Sweden, on 19 June. Wallsé in New York, US, won the category Best Austrian Wine List, presented by Austrian Wine.
”It hasn’t always been easy, but over time, more and more Austrian wine found its way to New York. I want to thank all the previous staff for starting creating this. And of course we also need to thank all the great producers in Austria for creating these great wines,” says Wallsé’s Benjamin Gutenbrunner.
The jury's Paz Levinson says this about the winning list:
"A list that takes risks in a very exigent wine city! The list has a clear obsession: Austrian wine, and they do it so well, from the design to all the concepts and of course the selection of the labels. Good prices, back vintages and an exploration of the main grapes from Austria and a great diversity of regions and styles. What distinguishes it from other Austrian lists outside Austria is the depth in red wines at the same level as the whites. Big bravo!"
In 2022, Star Wine List once again launched its coveted international awards program, the third annual Star Wine List of the Year awards. In a number of significant wine markets, from London to New York to Sweden and beyond, a prestigious jury has convened to judge the best wine lists in that city or country.
The silver medalists in the Austrian category were:
Admiralgade 26, Copenhagen, Denmark
Happolati, Oslo, Norway
Rockpool Bar & Grill, Perth, Australia
Newcomer Wines, London, UK
Freundschaft, Berlin, Germany
Heaven 23, Gothenburg, Sweden
Restaurant Grön, Helsinki, Finland
Ginza Soseki, Tokyo, Japan
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.
Jury
Nina Højgaard Jensen, Second Best Sommelier of the World 2023 (ASI)
Reeze Choi, Third Best Sommelier of the World 2023 (ASI)
Paz Levinson, Best Sommelier of Americas 2015
Pascaline Lepeltier, Best Sommelier of France 2018
Ronan Sayburn MS, CEO, Court of Master Sommeliers Europe
(In the case where the jury member works at a restaurant that is listed or a finalist on Star Wine List, they are not part of the judging and discussion of those categories.)
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.
