More than 130 sommeliers, chefs and restaurateurs from 28 countries travelled to southern Sweden recently for Star Wine List’s 2026 Global Final.
Hosted by provincial wine body Terra Skåne, it was the culmination of awards ceremonies held throughout the year in 14 territories spanning three continents, plus an online contest incorporating the rest of the world.
From these regional competitions, 195 restaurants and wine bars won Gold Stars in various international categories, and were now eligible to win a global Gold Star at this year’s final in Skåne.
And on 15 June, some 130 representatives from 66 of those 195 venues attended, from as far away as New Zealand, Seychelles, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Mauritius and the Maldives.
Before the ceremony at barbecue eatery Holy Smoke, just outside the village of Arild, the finalists visited Kullabergs Vingård for wine tastings from Terra Skåne estates followed by a traditional Midsummer celebration at Arilds Vingård.
Thanakorn ‘Jay’ Bottorff (centre) of Inddee restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, receiving the award for Best Medium-Sized List at the Star Wine List Global Final, from founder Krister Bengtsson (left) and Jonathan Gouveia MS (right), one of the finals judges.
(Image credit: Terra-Skåne / Anna Thorbjörnsson)
‘A wine list that has soul’
Judging the wine lists, for who would take home global Gold Stars in 10 international categories, were Master Sommelier Stefan Neumann, the Regional Chair for Austria and Switzerland at the Decanter World Wine Awards, along with fellow Master Sommeliers Jonathan Gouveia and Piotr Pietras, plus Doug Frost MS MW, one of only five people to have ever held both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine qualifications.
‘Judging the world’s best wine lists is very similar to being a food critic at the world’s best restaurant,’ Gouveia said. ‘It’s both extremely humbling and terrifying at the same time.’
Bangkok’s Inddee, a Michelin two-star restaurant that only opened in 2023, won a second global Gold Star in a row for Best Medium-Sized List, after taking the same award at the final in Vienna, Austria last year.
In his acceptance speech, head sommelier Thanakorn ‘Jay’ Bottorff said: ‘I genuinely believe it’s a wine list that actually has soul, and I’m really, really, really happy about it!’
Ferran Centelles, the joint Regional Chair for Spain at the Decanter World Wine Awards, who was one of the judges of the Southeast Asia wine lists, said Bottorff’s list was ‘as beautifully presented as it is well-stocked’.
In the global judging, Neumann compared it to ‘falling down the rabbit hole, but instead of just the Mad Hatter, you’re greeted by Jay and his incredible team, ready to guide you through the world of wine in all its facets and delights’.
Inddee saw off strong competition from 24 other restaurants including The Four Horsemen and Peasant in New York City and Trivet in London. They (and all runners up in this final) won global Silver Stars.
Alessandra Tasca, head of wine at London restaurant Oma, enjoying Swedish Midsummer celebrations. Oma won the Special Jury Prize at the 2026 Star Wine List Global Final.
(Image credit: Terra-Skåne / Anna Thorbjörnsson)
‘We take you on a journey with the list’
Besides Trivet, seven other London restaurants were in contention for global Gold Stars, including Trivet’s sister restaurant Labombe, in the Best Newcomer category.
The other six were: Doppo (Long List and Best Italian List), Row on 5 (By-the-Glass List and Sparkling List), Daka Daka (Short List), Newcomer Wines (Best Austrian List), Restaurant St Barts (Sustainability Prize) and Oma (Special Jury Prize).
And the UK capital didn’t come home empty handed. It was Greek-inspired Michelin one-star restaurant Oma, which won a Silver Star as a finalist in the global Best Newcomer last year, that triumphed with a Gold Star this year in the Special Jury Prize for ‘a wine lovers’ place that does something out of the ordinary’.
Oma’s head of wine, Alessandra Tasca, who collected the prize with assistant wine manager Samuel Worsfold, was elated with the win. ‘This is unreal, thank you! We’re very, very happy. We didn’t expect it – we’re here for the vibes!
‘Ours is a list inspired by the Mediterranean sea,’ Tasca explained. ‘We wanted to give a different approach to how we perceive geography in wine.
‘The list is organised in a unique way. We have three sections: one is ‘influence of the sea’, and then we have ‘surrounded by the sea’ and then the ‘further inland’ section.
‘So we take you on a journey with the list – it’s like going on a holiday in the Mediterranean.’
Neumann remarked of Oma’s list: ‘When you see great art you just stop and stare. You do the same here, but with the biggest smile on your face and most certainly a good glass of wine in front of you.’
Star Wine List founder Krister Bengtsson (left) with Master Sommelier Jonathan Gouveia (right) accepting the award for international Best Long List on behalf of French-Canadian restaurant Le Coureur des Bois, based in Beloeil, Québec.
(Image credit: Terra-Skåne / Anna Thorbjörnsson)
Local yet global
Star Wine List founder Krister Bengtsson said the expertise of top international sommeliers, as well as insight from regional judges and ambassadors, ensured that the awards were both local yet global.
Each independently assess the submitted wine lists in each regional competition and then meet to collectively determine the winners.
Judges sought out unique wine lists that were notable for their theme, selection, style, structure, presentation or price, said Bengtsson, not simply because they had a cellar full of blue-chip Bordeaux or Burgundy.
He said this ensured under-the-radar venues or those with specialised or quirky lists had the same chance to shine as more prominent restaurants in larger cities.
Bengtsson launched Star Wine List in Stockholm in 2017 as an international guide for wine lovers to find great wine bars and restaurants, wherever they happened to be in the world.
More than 3,500 wine lists from 45 countries are represented in the guide – available as an app and at starwinelist.com. Venues cannot pay to be featured; all bars and restaurants are selected purely on the quality of their wine programmes by the Star Wine List team as well as sommeliers and regional ambassadors (local wine professionals).
The Star Wine List of the Year Awards and its global tour started in 2018.
Gold Stars – Star Wine List’s 2026 Global Final winners
- Best Long List (more than 600 references): Le Coureur des Bois, Beloeil, Québec, Canada
- Best Medium-sized List (200-600 references): Inddee, Bangkok, Thailand
- Best Short List (fewer than 200 listings): Vintage, Kontich, Belgium
- Best By-the-Glass List: Sticks & Stones Wine Bar, Munich, Germany
- Best Sparkling Wine List: Minne Champagne & Wine, Helsinki, Finland
- Best Newcomer List: Café Vivant, Menlo Park, California, USA
- Sustainability Prize (for sustainable commitment of both the wine list and broader venue): Restaurant Ark, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Best Austrian Wine List: Hotel Jagdhof, Röhrnbach, Germany
- Best Italian Wine List: Acquerello, San Francisco, California, USA
- Special Jury Prize (a wine lovers’ place that does something out of the ordinary): Oma, London, UK
To read more about the Gold Star winners and all the Silver Star runners up in each category, click here.
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