On September 15, the international wine guide Star Wine List will award Gold Stars to the best wine lists of the Baltics for the third time. The awards will be an exciting challenge between 15 new names to the competition vying with some of the biggest winners from previous years.
August 21, 2025 (Stockholm, Sweden) — The increasingly vibrant wine and food scene in the Baltics is a known fact, but now the question is: who will win the coveted Gold Stars in Star Wine List of the Year Baltics 2025? Will the former winners hold their ground or have to step down from the throne? The finalists – who have just been announced – include previous multi-Gold-Star winners such as Barents, Veino, Time to Wine Rotermanni and Max Cekot Kitchen, and they are this year joined in the shortlist by a number of fresh faces to the competition.
The answer will be given during an awards ceremony held at the restaurant of the Neringa Hotel in Vilnius, on 15 September, alongside the Lithuanian Sommelier Championship. The expert jury responsible for selecting the 42 finalists for Star Wine List of the Year Baltics 2025 comprises Master Sommelier Kathrine Larsen-Robert, Master of Wine Stephen Wong, and celebrated sommeliers Julie Dupouy-Young and Kamil Wojtasiak.
Star Wine List of the Year celebrates the work and creativity of sommelier teams in creating brilliant wine lists, and the Baltics competition will award Gold Stars to the top lists in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania across several categories, with one overall Baltic winner announced for each. This year’s new “Best Italian Wine List” category has proved hugely popular, with 15 venues making it to the final, while the full list of contenders in the other new permanent category, the “Special Jury Prize,” will be announced at the event.
The ceremony is by invitation only and will be attended by the sommelier finalists and our commercial partners. Please contact us for press accreditation.
Finalists
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES:
Best Long List
For wine lists with more than 600 references
- Max Cekot Kitchen, Riga, Latvia
- Riviera, Riga, Latvia
- Time to Wine Kopli 6, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
Best Medium-Sized List
Recognises the best wine list with 200-600 references
- 180 Degrees Restaurant, Tallinn, Estonia
- BABO, Riga, Latvia
- Barents, Riga, Latvia
- Chin Chin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Clos[er], Riga, Latvia
- Ecrin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Fotografiska Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
- Lee, Tallinn, Estonia
- Monte Pacis, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Restaurant Pacai, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Saint-Malo, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Shang Shi, Tallinn, Estonia
- Veino, Tallinn, Estonia
Best Short List
Recognises the best wine list with fewer than 200 listings
- 14 Horses, Vilnius, Lithuania
- 3 pavaru restorans, Riga, Latvia
- Barbarea, Tallinn, Estonia
- Demo Restoranas, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Džiaugsmas, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Gaspar’s, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Gutenbergs Terrace, Riga, Latvia
- Le Travi, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Lore Bistroo, Tallinn, Estonia
- Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
- Mantel ja Korsten, Tallinn, Estonia
- Nineteen18, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Oecumene, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Pavāru Māja, Līgatnē, Latvia
- Restaurant B7, Riga, Latvia
- The Peacock Lounge, Tallinn, Estonia
- UMA, Tallinn, Estonia
Best Sparkling Wine List
Recognises the best list for sparkling wines
- Barents, Riga, Latvia
- Chin Chin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Ecrin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Kristoforas, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Max Cekot Kitchen, Riga, Latvia
- Oecumene, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Paliesius manor, Paliesius, Lithuania
- Restaurant Pacai, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Riviera, Riga, Latvia
- Saint-Malo, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Shang Shi, Tallinn, Estonia
- The Peacock Lounge, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Kopli 6, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
- Veino, Tallinn, Estonia
Best By-the-Glass List
Recognises the best ‘by-the-glass’ list
- 180 Degrees Restaurant, Tallinn, Estonia
- Barents, Riga, Latvia
- Ecrin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Fotografiska Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
- Gaspar’s, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
- Monte Pacis, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Oecumene, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Riviera, Riga, Latvia
- SOMM The Wine Bar, Vilnius, Lithuania
- The Peacock Lounge, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Kopli 6, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
- Veino, Tallinn, Estonia
Best Newcomer List
Recognises a venue that has recently opened
- Oecumene, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Saint-Malo, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Vinería de Chile, Vilnius, Lithuania
Estonian and Latvian contenders to be announced at the event
Sustainability Prize
Assesses the sustainable commitment of both the wine list and broader venue via a supplementary questionnaire submitted during the application process
- Demo Restoranas, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Fotografiska Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
- Lee, Tallinn, Estonia
- Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
- Oecumene, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Pavāru Māja, Līgatnē, Latvia
Best Austrian Wine List
Recognises the best list for the wines of Austria – a category presented by Austrian Wine
- Barbarea, Tallinn, Estonia
- Barents, Riga, Latvia
- Fotografiska Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia
- Lowine bar, Riga, Latvia
- Max Cekot Kitchen, Riga, Latvia
- Restaurant Pacai, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Riviera, Riga, Latvia
- Shang Shi, Tallinn, Estonia
- SOMM The Wine Bar, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Time to Wine Kopli 6, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
Best Italian Wine List
Recognises the best list for the wines of Italy – a category presented by Pasqua
- Barents, Riga, Latvia
- Controvento, Tallinn, Estonia
- Ecrin, Tallinn, Estonia
- Light House Jūrmala, Jurmala, Latvia
- Max Cekot Kitchen, Riga, Latvia
- Monte Pacis, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Noa Chef´s Hall, Tallinn, Estonia
- Restaurant Pacai, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Riviera, Riga, Latvia
- Shang Shi, Tallinn, Estonia
- Snatch restaurant, Riga, Latvia
- SOMM The Wine Bar, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Time to Wine Kopli 6, Tallinn, Estonia
- Time to Wine Rotermanni, Tallinn, Estonia
- Veino, Tallinn, Estonia
Special Jury Prize
Rewards a wine lovers’ place that does something out of the ordinary
The winner will be announced at the event
About Star Wine List
Star Wine List is the award-winning guide to great wine bars and wine restaurants around the world. It is available as an app and at starwinelist.com. It was launched in Stockholm (Sweden) in 2017, and is now live in more than 45 countries. All venues are selected by top wine professionals. Star Wine List of the Year is an international competition celebrating the wonderful wine lists of the world and the dedicated sommelier teams who create them. Since its inception in 2018, this global tour has evolved to cover numerous territories, hosting events that recognise excellence in the wine and hospitality industries.
