Riesling: A Planet in Orbit at Star Wine List of the Year UK Awards 2026

“Riesling is not a grape, it is a planet” is a phrase long championed by Steven Spurrier which has rarely felt more apt than it did in London recently.

At the 2026 edition of the Star Wine List of the Year UK, held at 1Hotel Mayfair on 23^rd March, Riesling did more than feature. It defined the narrative. The introduction of the inaugural Best Riesling Wine List award, presented by Dr Enno Lippold of Mosel, marked a decisive shift in how the grape is positioned within the UK on-trade: not as an option, but as a benchmark.

A Global Benchmark, Reframed

The Star Wine List of the Year UK Awards form part of an international framework widely regarded as the benchmark for wine list excellence. Judged by leading sommeliers and industry experts, the focus is unmistakable: recognising lists that prioritise substance over scale, and reward vision, precision, and distinctive character.

Within this context, the introduction of a Riesling-specific category feels both timely and telling. It signals a growing recognition that the grape, in all its diversity, offers one of the clearest expressions of intent a wine list can make.

Clarity, Depth, and Conviction

In its inaugural year, the Gold Star for Best Riesling Wine List was awarded to Claridge’s Restaurant, under the direction of Head Sommelier Emma Denney and her team. Their list stood apart for its assured balance of authority and exploration, pairing benchmark regions with more unexpected discoveries, while the inclusion of carefully chosen back vintages added both depth and narrative.

As judge Mikk Parre observed: “This wine list confidently covers all the key regions and styles while also venturing beyond the classics into exciting, out-of-the-box territories. A well-curated selection of back vintages adds extra depth to an already impressive selection.”

A Shift in the On-Trade Mindset

Chosen from more than 30 submissions, the finalists including Core by Clare Smyth, Les 110 de Taillevent and Noble Rot Mayfair reflect a broader evolution across the UK’s leading wine programmes. Riesling is no longer peripheral. It is being positioned with intent. Lists demonstrate growing authority, combining classic regions with progressive selections that challenge, educate, and excite in equal measure. In doing so, they underscore Riesling’s unique role as one of the most versatile and articulate partners at the table.

A Life in Parcels: The Lippold Philosophy

For Dr Lippold, the award is more than a professional milestone. It is a reflection of a lifelong commitment to Riesling as a vehicle for expressing true terroir.

One of Germany’s few true parcellaires, he works individual vineyard plots in the Mosel village of Ürzig: a site of historic significance, twinned with Aloxe-Corton, reflecting a shared heritage of world-class terroirs. His vineyards, planted with ungrafted Selection Massale vines aged between 40 and 70 years, yield naturally low quantities of small, concentrated berries. The terroir itself, defined by red slate bedrock and volcanic rhyolite soils, imparts a distinctive mineral signature, alongside exotic aromatic nuances often recalling ripe mango, all anchored by a precise spine of acidity.

Here, viticulture is both traditional and forward-thinking. Organic and regenerative practices are combined with an uncompromising commitment to time. Wines are released only after extended ageing, once they have entered their first drinking window, yet with the structure to evolve further.

The result is a portfolio of still and sparkling Rieslings that speak not only of place, but of patience: wines that marry purity, elegance, and longevity with the intricate story of site and vintage.

Time as the Ultimate Proof

To illustrate this philosophy, Dr Lippold presented a selection of wines spanning the decades:

• 1996 Sparkling Mosel Riesling Dry
• 2016 Cuvée Empress Joséphine Riesling Reserve
• 2015 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese – Weltersberg
• 1995 Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese
• 1995 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Eiswein

Each bottle was served to guests as a testament to what André Simon once described as Riesling’s “astonishing capacity to endure and reveal its character across decades”.The Planet Theory

Throughout the event, one idea resonated above all others. First expressed by Jean Meyer of Josmeyer and later championed by Steven Spurrier, the notion that “Riesling is not a grape, it is a planet” became the defining mantra of Dr Lippold’s address.

Far more than metaphor, a planet suggests depth, orbit, complexity and indeed a world with its own internal logic. Riesling, in this sense, transcends category. It encompasses a spectrum of styles while maintaining a singular, unmistakable identity rooted in precision and sense of place.

Defining the Future of the Wine List

What emerged from this trailblazing award was a clear and confident message. In today’s on-trade, a serious wine list is not defined by scale alone, but by clarity of vision and the confidence to lead.

Riesling now sits at the heart of that vision. With its ability to traverse styles, express terroir with rare fidelity, and evolve across decades, it has become a defining measure of gastronomic intent. Not an addition, but a foundation.

Riesling has officially moved into orbit and from here on, it is setting the benchmark.