Winners in Star Wine List of the Year Switzerland 2025 show their “longstanding commitment to the sommelier craft”
Star Wine List of the Year Switzerland 2025 was held in Zürich on Monday 19 May, with the highest honour going to the luxurious, lakeside Park Hotel Vitznau. Who else earned Gold Stars? Take a look at the full list of winners.
This week saw Star Wine List of the Year’s first in-person awards event held solely for Switzerland, hosted by Founder and Publisher Krister Bengtsson at Chez Smith, in Zürich. And our celebration of Swiss wine lists was just that, with Gold Stars awarded across the full breadth of the country, from Geneva in the west, up to Zürich and down to Samedan in the south east.
This is the third time that we have recognised the efforts of Switzerland's sommelier teams after a virtual event in 2021, and a combined competition with Austria and Germany in 2024.
“Seeing Switzerland's geographic and cultural diversity expressed in these outstanding wine programs has been remarkable,” says judge Nina Jensen. “Across the board, there is a profound sense of quality, coupled with a longstanding commitment to the sommelier craft and traditions, yet still a curious outlook. Moreover, witnessing the widespread support for your exceptional domestic wines is fantastic!” Jensen was joined on the jury panel by Bertrand Lutaud MS and Reeze Choi.
In Zürich this week, Park Hotel Vitznau emerged as the overall winner for 2025, taking Gold Stars for Best Long List (for the second year in a row) and the Grand Prix. Judge Bertrand Lutaud MS praised the sommelier team for sharing the “pleasure and culture” of deliberate cellar aging, adding: “thank you for sharing that with your fellow wine lovers.”
Opfikon’s Wunderbrunnen also received two Gold Stars, for Best By the Glass List (again, the second year in a row) and the Best Austrian Wine List (upgrading from their Silver Star in the same category last year). And there were Gold Stars for competition newcomers 169 West (Zürich) and 57° Grill (Lausanne). See who else took home prizes, below…
Since all of the categories in this Swiss contest fall into our “international” classification, all of these Gold Star winners are now automatically entered into the Star Wine List of the Year International Final 2025, to battle it out against other winners from around the world; an awards ceremony will be held in Vienna, on 16 June.
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Grand Prix
– The best list of the overall competition.
Gold Star:
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
What the winners said:
“In general, we keep the classics and have them to show, but also introduce the rising stars.”
– Sven Uzat, Park Hotel Vitznau
What the judges said:
“A very extensive wine list with notable cellaring. Aging wines is part of our pleasure and culture – thank you for sharing that with your fellow wine lovers.”
– Bertrand Lutaud MS
Best Long List
– For wine lists with more than 600 references.
This category is presented by Château d'Esclans
Gold Star:
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
What the winners said:
“For us the most important thing is that we represent both the wine list and make the best available choices for our guests. It really doesn’t matter if the wine is priced at 50 Francs or 5,000 Francs – what’s the most important point is our guests, at the end of the day.”
– Sven Uzat, Park Hotel Vitznau
What the judges said:
“A classy, precise and purposeful list that showcases breathtaking verticals. Taking an overall old-school approach, it stays relevant by including emerging stars. Creating such a list is a continuous effort of discipline, tough choices, and immense integrity.”
– Nina Jensen
Silver Stars:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Chez Bacchus, Geneva
Chez Smith, Zürich
Einstein, St. Gallen
Inda-Bar, Geneva
Sven Wassmer Memories, Bad Ragaz
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.
Gold Star:
Matière, Geneva
What the winners said:
“We are very delighted to receive this prize. We love the food, we love the wine, we love to share with everybody. Thank you so much.”
– Lionel Schneider, Matière
What the judges said:
“A wine list full of curiosity, passion and research. From artisanal producers to more confirmed makers, the idea is to discover one of the many nested gems located within it. Great encouragement and investment – the style of wine list I feel particularly attached to.”
– Bertrand Lutaud MS
Silver Stars:
Bombar, Geneva
Colonnade, Lucerne
Donatz Wine Bar, Samedan
Gallo, 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.
Gold Star:
57° Grill, Lausanne
What the judges said:
“A well-thought-out wine list, where you can find pleasure for every one of your needs – from the Old World to the New World, from high-acid to richer wines. A big bravo, as well, for the original presentation.”
– Bertrand Lutaud MS
Silver Stars:
169 West, Zürich
Lotti, Zürich
Restaurant Trübli, Winterthur
Best By the Glass List
– Recognises the best ‘by the glass’ list.
Gold Star:
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
What the winners said:
“I’m not from the restaurant business. So I have a big collection of wine and I want the possibility for people to drink a wine they cannot drink normally – that was the reason [for this by-the-glass list].”
– Roger Hirzel, Wunderbrunnen
What the judges said:
“This is a very complete by-the-glass program. The selection is comprehensive, including all kinds of wine, with a wide range of grape varieties and countries. It offers customers a lot of choice, and there are some nice old vintage wines, too.”
– Reeze Choi
Silver Stars:
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
Best Sparkling Wine List
– Recognises the best list for sparkling wines.
This category is presented by Nyetimber
Gold Star:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
What the winners said:
“[We ensure that our list includes] something new, something [from a] small producer, something different – not just the conventional ones. Happy to be here, thank you.”
– Andrea Tozzi, Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne
What the judges said:
“This is a nice and selective Champagne list with a mix of respected houses and grower producers at its core. Besides that, it’s completed by Old World classics, providing good diversity overall.”
– Reeze Choi
Silver Stars:
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 Château Galoupet
Gold Star:
169 West, Zürich
What the winners said:
“[Sustainability] is what we are doing every day – that’s our job. Every wine that we are serving, we are explaining and telling a bit of story about the winemakers especially, and the wine itself, and the grape variety … We’re bringing a lot of effort to telling the stories about the winemakers and the people around.”
– Lidia Pusterla, 169 West
What the judges said:
“Indisputable quality makes supporting this sustainable approach easy for any wine drinker. Clear and uncompromising in its curation, this list also creates a playful, captivating vibe impossible not to be charmed by! A great wine program in itself and an admirable ambassador for the category.”
– Nina Jensen
Silver Stars:
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
Gold Star:
Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon
What the winners said:
“Thank you very much. It’s really a surprise and we didn’t expect this. It’s a pleasure.”
– Juan Luis Biedma, Wunderbrunnen
What the judges said:
“An ambitious Austrian wine program built around the benchmark wines. They have examples by the glass, in large formats, sweet wines, great, timeless whites with age plus a small section outside the usual suspects, and a deep red wine list.”
– Nina Jensen
Silver Stars:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Dorfhus Gupf, Rehetobel
Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau
Restaurant La Riva, Lenzerheide
Viniviva Wein, Dübendorf
Best California Wine List
– Recognises the best list for wines from California
This category is presented by Pahlmeyer
Gold Star:
Donatz Wine Bar, Samedan
What the judges said:
“This place has plenty of Californian choices, focusing on the most iconic wines from the most important regions. The diverse selection of grapes, regions, and producers successfully showcases the landscape of California, with a good amount of large-format bottles available too. Well done.”
– Reeze Choi
Silver Stars:
Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Obbürgen
Chez Smith, Zürich
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.
Chateau d’Esclans
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Château Galoupet
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Nyetimber
English sparkling producer Nyetimber is the leading producer of sparkling wine in the country.
