The Star Wine List of the Year competition is returning to Spain for a third year to name the country’s best wine lists, recognising the people behind them by awarding Gold Stars across 10 categories. And entries are now open!
August 25, 2026 (Stockholm, Sweden) — The top wine lists across Spain will be revealed at an awards ceremony in Barcelona this November, for the third time. Sommeliers are invited to submit their wine lists for assessment by a highly accomplished jury of international wine professionals as part of the 2026/’27 season of Star Wine List of the Year. The competition is free to enter and Gold Star winners in the Spanish categories will subsequently go on to compete in the Star Wine List of the Year Global Final, against other winners from around the world, in June 2027.
This season’s awards tour welcomes a new ‘international’ category, which will be judged in each territory, for the Best Rosé Wine List. Entries will be judged by Stephen Wong (a Master of Wine based in New Zealand), Paz Levinson (ASI Best Sommelier of the Americas 2015, based in France) and local expert Pilar Cavero (Best Sommelier of Spain 2013, based in Madrid).
Winners in each category of Star Wine List of the Year receive a Gold Star, while runners-up earn a Silver Star. These accolades, awarded annually, remain separate to Star Wine List’s perpetual guide to the world’s best wine places, which categorises venues into Red and White Stars.
KEY DATES:
- Entries open: 20th August 2026
- Deadline for entries: 27th September 2026
- Finalists announced: 29th October 2026
- Awards event: 23rd November 2026
CATEGORIES:
International categories:
- Special Jury Prize – rewards a wine lovers’ place that does something out of the ordinary.
- 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, presented by Ceretto
- Best Sparkling Wine List
- Best Rosé Wine List, presented by D.O. Navarra
- Best Newcomer List
- Best Austrian Wine List, presented by Austrian Wine
- Sustainability Prize
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 a Global Final each summer.
