
Riga, November 28, 2023
International Jury Names Best Baltic Restaurants
As part of the Baltic Wine & Drinks Awards, an international Jury joined by ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2023 Raimonds Tomsons has named the best restaurants for wine lovers in the Baltic states. In association with Liebherr, the competition is held for the fourth year by a team of professionals known throughout the Baltics and worldwide in order to discover and spotlight Baltic restaurants, bars, hotels with good, great and extraordinary wine lists and to foster the growth of the Baltic wine culture. The competition’s organisers hope that the results will offer support and recognition in order to drive wine tourism towards Baltic countries.
The competition judged the wine lists of forty-nine leading Baltic restaurants, wine bars and hotel restaurants as well as wine retailers and cocktail bars. During the Awards ceremony, which took place during Riga Wine & Champagne festival on November 25, eleven Baltic venues were awarded three stars, the highest rating, of which six of the wine lovers’ favourite restaurants and bars were in Riga, with two in Vilnius, and three in Tallinn.
The judges rated each restaurant’s wine selection on a 100-point scale, analysing the contents of the wine list (wines represented, vintages, suitability for the restaurant’s cuisine and characteristics, focus on specific country or wine region), pricing policy, presentation and clarity, as well as the element of surprise. Restaurants were awarded either a one-, two- or three-star Baltic Wine & Drinks Awards rating, as well as a Recommended status.
The biggest stars of the international jury were Billy Wagner (Nobelhart & Schmutzig, World’s Top 50 restaurant owner and sommelier, Berlin) and Peter Liem (one of the world’s leading Champagne experts and book authors), while the Baltic panel was represented by ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2023 Raimonds Tomsons, Kristjan Peäske (Estonia), Arūnas Starkus (Lithuania), Jānis Volkinšteins (Latvia), Lauris Grass (Latvia) tarklases.lv) and Head of Jury Aigars Nords (founder of Riga Wine & Champagne).
Top 11 Best Restaurants, Wine Bars and Retailers, 3-star winners in 2023 (by country):
Latvia
- Barents (Riga), Best Fine-Dining Restaurant for Wine Lovers in the Baltics in 2023
- Noble Wine Shop and Bar (Riga), Best Wine Bar & Shop in the Baltics
- Riviera (Riga), Best Casual Restaurant for Wine Lovers in the Baltics
- Max Cekot Kitchen (Riga), Special Award for the Highest New Restaurant Entry in 2023
- Tauro (Riga), Best ultra-premium wine list in the Baltics
- Barents Wine Collectors (Riga), Best Premium Wine Retailer in the Baltics
Estonia
- Time To Wine Rotermanni (Tallinn), Best Wine Bar & Shop in Estonia
- Time to Wine Bar & Shop (Tallinn), Best Value-for-Money in the Baltics
- Lee Restaurant (Tallinn), Best Value-for-Money Casual Restaurant for wine lovers in the Baltics
Lithuania
- Nineteen18 (Vilnius), Best Fine-Dining Restaurant for Wine Lovers in Lithuania in 2023
- Vyno klubas (Vilnius) Best Universal all-purpose wine retailer in the Baltics
All competition results and ratings for restaurants and wine bars in the Baltics are available: http://balticwinelists.eu