Star Wine List, a guide to wine bars and restaurants, recently gave out its awards in Vienna, including a gong for best Austrian wine list.
Restaurants, bars and the drinks industry more generally have had cause to celebrate this summer, as Star Wine List hosted its Star Wine List of the Year International Final in Vienna in June. The event revealed the organisation’s top lists for the year, spread across a number of categories.
Star Wine List was founded in Stockholm in 2017, with a view to uncovering the world’s best restaurants and bars for wine lovers. To assemble its contenders for the 2025 awards, since last September its team has travelled all over the world. It visited cities such as Copenhagen, Ghent, Dubai, Barcelona, Tokyo and Miami, while other areas that could not be physically visited had remote assessments conducted.
The final stop was to judge the lists of Vienna on 15 June, but the judges stayed in the city one more day to unveil the year’s overall winners.
Diverse lists and hometown glory
The winners across the categories showcased the breadth of choice available on the global wine scene, but there were notable Austrian flavours in light of the host city.
The Grand Prix, representing the overall best list, went to Park Hotel Vossevangen in Voss, Norway. Judge Toru Takamatsu MS praised it as “a list that would have any wine lover reading for the whole meal”. It was sponsored by Premium Estates of Austria, a portfolio of wines, distillates and vinegars from some of the country’s premier producers.
Austrian Wine, the national body for the wine industry, also played a crucial role, sponsoring an award for Best Austrian Wine List. This was secured by Chi-Fu in Osaka, Japan.
Chi-Fu is known for its Chinese cuisine, which is executed with European influence in the cooking. It is a regular winner at the Star Wine List Japan Awards, and has received a Michelin star.
After the win, Takamatsu commented: “An extensive selection of top Austrian producers not only for white and red but also sparkling. The addition of vintage depth creates such an exciting list to read.”
Meanwhile, several Austrian establishments won Silver Stars, the accolade below overall winner in each category. These were Döllerer, based in Golling, for Best Long List; Esslokal, based in Hadersdorf am Kamp, for Best Medium-Sized List; Artis, based in Graz, for Best Short List; Heunisch & Erben, based in Vienna, for Best By the Glass List; Die Weinbank, based in Ehrenhausen, and Restaurant Amador, based in Vienna, for Best Sparkling List; and Gastwirtschaft Floh, based in Langenlebarn, for Best Sustainable Wine List.
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