The World’s Best Wine Lists 2020: Pix Pâtisserie and Park Hotel triumph

Portland’s idiosyncratic Champagne and Sherry champion and the top Norwegian hotel were both awarded the World’s Best Wine List 2020 title—the first time the coveted awards’ top prize has been shared

After a year of extraordinary challenges for the world’s restaurants, wine bars, and hotels, The World of Fine Wine celebrated the talent and resilience of the global on-trade wine community with the presentation of the 2020 World’s Best Wine Lists Awards.

The prestigious competition’s seventh year was one of firsts. There was a first online ceremony, hosted by World’s Best Wine Lists Awards chairman and WFW editor Neil Beckett via Ivent in late November. And for the first time the top award, The World’s Best Wine List, was shared by two establishments: Portland’s Pix Pâtisserie and Park Hotel in Vossevangen, Norway.

A serial winner of the World’s Best Champagne & Sparkling Wine List ever since the WBWL’s inception—a title that owner Cheryl Wakerhauser picked up again in 2020—Pix Pâtisserie earned the admiration of the judges “not just for the outstanding Champagne and sparkling wine list, but for the amazing collection of Sherry, too,” said category-awards judge and WFW food editor, Francis Percival. “The incongruity of the list and venue just makes this more special. A treasure,” Percival added.

Equally impressive, Park Hotel was, according to Percival, “The most inspiring of the big lists this year. It is a great collection of wines, but there is also such impeccable clarity of thought in how the whole thing is put together.” Fellow judge James Tidwell, Master Sommelier and co-founder of Texsom, agreed. “I know of a number of restaurants and wine bars that are shrines for the wine trade, but I know of few hotels. This list is inspiring and I feel that is one of the highest compliments one can give to a wine list,” Tidwell said.

Pix Pâtisserie and Park Hotel beat off strong competition from a range of global category-award winners to take the joint-top prize.

Global scope

New York City and London continued to jostle for the position of global wine capital as the cities picked up a range of top category prizes. In NYC, Eleven Madison Park was declared the Best Wine List in the Champions’ League competition reserved for previous World’s Best Wine List winners, and Paul Grieco’s inimitable Terroir in Tribeca took the Best Wine Bar List in the World title, while upstate New York provided the winner of the Best Designed Wine List in the World, Blue Hill at Stone Barn in Tarrytown.

In London, Sager + Wilde was the winner of the Best Medium-Size Wine List in the World and 28°-50° Wine Workshop and Kitchen took the Best Micro Wine List in the World.

But the British and American cities faced strong competition from Melbourne, which also picked up two global category awards—The World’s Best Short Wine List, Supernormal, and The World’s Best Sake List Oustside Japan, Cocoro.

The rest of the global category winners reflected the truly international scope of the awards. There was a further win for Australia in the World’s Most Original Wine List category for FermentAsian, in Tanunda, South Australia. And the United States outside New York provided winners in The Best By-the-Glass Wine List Without Coravin® (The Purple Pig, Chicago); The Best Hotel Wine List (The Fearrington House Restaurant, Pittsboro, North Carolina); and The Best Spirits List (John Howie Steak, Bellevue, Washington).

Both of the awards for regional specialization went to hotel restaurants that are in the Iberian peninsula: Atrio Restaurant Hotel, in Cáceres in Extremadura, Spain, was declared the Best Regional Wine List Outside the Region for its superlative French selection; and The Yeatman, in Porto, picked up The Best Regional Wine List in its Region. Finally, Asia contributed two category winners: Hong Kong’s L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon was declared The World’s Best Dessert & Fortified Wine List, and Tokyo’s Ryan The World’s Best Sake List (in Japan).

The global category winners all emerged from shortlists comprising the regional category winners, most of which were also the recipient of a coveted three-star award, the vinous equivalent of a top Michelin rating. In total, the judges handed out more than 1,000 star awards and 100 Jury Prizes.

The WBWL awards are decided by a panel of internationally respected judges comprising Percival, Tidwell, WFW contributing editor Andrew Jefford; World Champion Sommelier Andreas Larsson; consultants and sommeliers Anja Breit and Luciana Girotto; and wine educators and writers Camilla Bowler, Ch’ng Poh Tiong, Victoria Daskal, Anne Krebiehl MW, Elin McCoy, Jeremy Wilkinson, and Alder Yarrow.

WORLD’S BEST WINE LISTS 2020 GLOBAL CATEGORY WINNERS

Best Long Wine List in the World

Park Hotel, Vossevangen, Norway

Shortlist

The Modern, New York City, NY, USA

Grand Old House, Cayman Islands

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Hong Kong

FementAsian, Tanunda, Australia

Archipel, Constance Prince Maurice, Mauritius

Best Medium-Size Wine List in the World

Sager + Wilde Hackney Road, London, UK

Shortlist

Kinship, Washington DC, USA

Astrid & Gastón, Lima, Peru

Chop Steakhouse, American Club, Tokyo, Japan

Attica, Melbourne, Australia

Hakkasan Abu Dhabi, UEA

Best Short Wine List in the World

Supernormal, Melbourne, Australia

Shortlist

June’s All Day, Austin, Texas, USA

Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico

House of Tides, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK

Hajime, Osaka, Japan

Karibu, Cape Town, South Africa

Best Micro Wine List in the World

28^°-50^° Wine Workshop & Kitchen, London, UK

Shortlist

Wine Bar George, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

La Niña, Lima, Peru

Pot Luck Club, Cape Town, South Africa

Nouri, Singapore

Estelle, Melbourne, Australia

Best Spirits List in the World

John Howie Steak, Bellevue, Washington, USA

Shortlist

Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico

Matteo’s at Annabels, London, UK

Priva Lounge, Pretoria, South Africa

La Terre, Singapore

Charred Kitchen and Bar, Orange, Australia

Best Regional Wine List in its Region

The Yeatman, Porto, Portugal

Shortlist

Press Restaurant, Napa Valley, USA

Cabaña Las Lilas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Hajime, Osaka, Japan

The Barn Steakhouse, Mount Gambier, Australia

Best Regional Wine List outside Region

Atrio Restaurant Hotel, Cáceres, Spain (France)

Shortlist

The Musket Room, NYC, USA (New Zealand)

L’Osteria del Becco, Mexico City (Italy)

Archipel, Constance Prince Maurice, Mauritius (France)

Chop Steakhouse, American Club, Tokyo, Japan (USA)

Ormeggio at The Spit, Sydney, Australia (Italy)

Best Champagne & Sparkling Wine List in the World

Pix Pâtisserie, Portland, Oregon, USA

Shortlist

Blue by Eric Ripert, Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman

Archipel, Constance Prince Maurice, Mauritius

Restaurant Petrus, Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong

Rockpool, Bar & Grill, Sydney, Australia

Best Dessert and Fortified Wine List in the World

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Hong Kong

Shortlist

Pappas Bros Steakhouse, Houston, Texas, USA

Olivetto Restaurant e Entoeca, Campinas, Brazil

Park Hotel, Vitznau, Switzerland

Blue Penny, Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius

Aria Restaurant, Sydney

Best Sake List outside Japan

Cocoro, Melbourne, Australia

Shortlist

Kado no Mise, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

The Chedi, Andermatt, Switzerland

Hakkasan Abu Dhabi, UAE

Best Sake List in Japan

Ryan, Tokyo, Japan

Shortlist

Roku Roku at The Grand Hyatt, Tokyo, Japan

Wadakura at Palace Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

Best By-the-Glass Wine List With Coravin® in the World

Wally’s, Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Shortlist

Ajualä, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Hong Kong

Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa

Aria, Sydney, Australia

Best By-the-Glass Wine List Without Coravin® in the World

The Purple Pig, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Shortlist

Blue by Eric Ripert, Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman

The Kitchin, Edinburgh, UK

Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa

Les Amis, Singapore

Vue de Monde, Melbourne, Australia

Best Wine Bar List in the World

Terroir, New York City, NY, USA

Shortlist

Bubbles Wine Bar, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Planet Bar at Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa

Napa Wine Bar, Shanghai, China

Love, Tilly Devine, Sydney, Australia

Best Hotel Wine List in the World

Fearrington House, Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA

Shortlist

Blue by Eric Ripert, Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman

PM & Vänner, Vaxjö, Sweden

Archipel, Constance Prince Maurice, Mauritius

Jonah’s Restaurant, Newcastle, Australia

Most Original Wine List in the World

FermentAsian, Tanunda, Australia

Shortlist

Terroir, New York City, NY, USA

Taste-Vin, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Noblehart & Schumtzig, Berlin, Germany

Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Ryan, Tokyo, Japan

Best Designed Wine List in the World

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Tarrytown, New York

Shortlist

Ajualä, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, Sweden

Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa

Amber at the Landmark Oriental, Hong Kong

Hopgoods, Nelson, New Zealand

Best Airline Wine List

Air France

Shortlist

Air Italy

Air New Zealand

Air Tahiti Nui

Delta

Iberia

Japan Airlines

Best Cruise Line/Ship Wine List

The World
Shortlist

The Glass House on P&O Cruises

The Grand Dining Room, Oceania Cruises

Princess Cruises

CHAMPIONS’ LEAGUE

Best Overall Wine List: Eleven Madison Park, New York City, NY, USA

Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine List: Pix Pâtisserie, Portland, Oregon, USA

Best Dessert and Fortified Wine List: Robuchon au Dôme at Grand Lisboa Hotel, Macau

Best Spirits List: The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee, USA

Best By-the-Glass Wine List: Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient Boutique Hotel, Pretoria, South Africa

The full list of results will be published in 2021 on worldoffinewine.com