Lifestyle

Kazakhstan features on the Star Wine List for the first time

Казахстан попал в международный винный гид
Collage by Kursiv.media, photo editor: Aruzhan Makhsotova

Kursiv.LifeSyle has found out that the Star Wine List map is now featuring locations in Almaty and Astana.

Star Wine List is a guide for wine bars and restaurants that marks the best places from all over the world. Sommeliers and oenophiles have noticed that Kazakhstan is also on the list.

There are now eight locations in Almaty and one in Astana on the Star Wine List. The majority of the bars and restaurants are concentrated in the Medeu district.

Users have also noticed Baku and Tashkent on the world wine map.

The famous Kazakhstani sommelier Artem Lebedev reviewed the facilities. Artem told Kursiv.LifeStyle that he came up with the idea to create a guide long before the pandemic. A year ago, he partnered with a wine specialist from Sweden to mark several prime locations in Central Asia on the map and review them.

«As of today, Kazakhstan stands out as the only country [in the region] where everything is fully developed. And we aren’t talking about Kazakhstan as a whole, but about Almaty.»

Lebedev noted that he highlighted locations specifically dedicated to wine, featuring well-curated wine cards and true professionals committed to development.

“Why is it so important? When you try to think of a place where you can spend your time drinking wine with interest, it turns out there aren’t many locations offering such leisure as the lineup is mostly the same. The same goes for meals. We need more new breaking projects… The more countries in Central Asia that make it into the guide, the more wine tourists will learn about them.

Lebedev announced a map update in a year.