November 20, 2025 (Stockholm, Sweden) — Entries are now being accepted in Star Wine List of the Year France 2026, a competition celebrating the country’s best wine lists – and the teams behind them. Winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony in Paris on 9th March 2026. Restaurants and wine bars across the country have until 11th January to submit their wine lists for consideration.
“France really has become one of the most important countries for Star Wine List and our awards,” says Krister Bengtsson, Founder and Publisher of Star Wine List. “Top sommeliers and restaurants report that many guests find them through Star Wine List – both from France and abroad. We can’t wait to come back to Paris to celebrate with the great teams of France in March.”
Star Wine List of the Year is an annual awards tour running from September to June each year. This season, the circuit incorporates 14 stops across the world plus an International Open event to include all remaining territories. For the third time, the best wine lists in France will be named, at a private awards event in the capital city on 9th March 2026.
Restaurants and bars across the country are invited to submit their wine lists, for free. Gold Stars will be awarded to the winners in nine categories, all of whom will subsequently be entered into the Star Wine List of the Year International Final, which will conclude this season’s tour in summer 2026 by pitting each region’s champions against one another for the chance at global acclaim.
These awards call upon an impressive international jury panel to assess the wine lists, including prize-winning sommeliers, writers and experts. The judges in this year’s French competition will be announced soon.
Key dates:
- Entries open: 20 November 2025
- Deadline for entries: 11 January 2026
- Finalists announced: 5 February 2026
- Awards event: 9 March 2026
Categories:
- Best Long List (for wine lists with more than 600 references)
- Best Medium-Sized List (200-600 references)
- Best Short List (fewer than 200 references)
- Best By-the-Glass List
- Best Sparkling Wine List
- Best Newcomer List
- Sustainability Prize
- Best Italian Wine List
- Special Jury Prize (rewards a wine lovers’ place that does something out of the ordinary)
Star Wine List of the Year 2025/’26 tour schedule:
Autumn 2025:
- The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) – 15 September
- Belgium and the Netherlands – 29 September
- Norway – 12 October
- Denmark – 24 November
- United Arab Emirates – 8 December
Spring 2026:
- International Open – 2 February (online competition for countries not covered by their own awards)
- Spain – 16 February
- Sweden – 2 March
- UK – 23 March
- Japan – 15 April
- Southeast Asia – 21 April
- New York – 4 May
- Florida – 6 May
- Germany, Austria & Switzerland – 18 May
About Star Wine List
Star Wine List is the international wine lovers’ guide to great wine bars and restaurants. 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 for the quality of their wine programmes.
The Star Wine List of the Year competition celebrates 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. Its highly anticipated awards events recognise excellence in the wine and hospitality industries, and culminate in an International Final each summer.
