MICHELIN expands into wine with new 1-2-3 level system for wine producers. First selection in 2026 to focus on Bordeaux & Burgundy.

by fluxural

25 Comments

  1. fluxural

    personally im curious to see whether there might be some huge upsets here, like a famous estate getting 1 star while a smaller producer gets 3 stars. since it’s starting in bordeaux and burgundy i’m sure this is unlikely to happen as it would kill industry buy-in at the highest levels.

    also curious how this will drive tourism – it essentially cuts the in-depth wine education/research needed to find a fantastic producer in a new region down, which was the entire ethos of the michelin guide to begin with.

    excited for this honestly!

  2. Daniel_Melzer

    I mean, this could give small wineries a chance to stick out but i feel like this will be a „oh this grand cru classe has a michelin grape, shocker“

  3. interrupting-octopus

    If MD2020 doesn’t earn a Bib Gourmand we riot

  4. Top_Somewhere9160

    If it mirrors their restaurant ratings, then there will be obvious big players that get the top selections, but could also lead to some smaller producers getting deserved recognition.

    The real curiosity for me will be in the 1-2 star rankings. Hopefully, Michelin can bring what they have in the restaurant world to build up unique and interesting small producers that are doing things the right way and making fantastic wine.

    Michelin is highly respected by most of the industry, hopefully they don’t tarnish that reputation as they expand further into wine.

  5. Gary_Deller

    Parker will lead the Michelin wine review.

  6. Boy do I hate this. I think there are already enough shenanigans going on with various publication’s point systems, classification systems from various countries that are out dated. Now we need a corrupt and overburdened restaurant guide to way in? No thanks. I’m good. Only thing this might do is push up prices on hidden gems or further inflate prices we already think are too high

  7. DnBrendan

    Just what Bordeaux and Burgundy need more of.. recognition.

  8. Good luck I feel like wine might be one of the toughest industries to get into right now, but Michelin has the money to make it a loss leader.

  9. South_Question6629

    This is great news for Pinotage, which already smells like a Michelin tire.

  10. ButObviously

    bordeaux seems like the least useful region to have a star system. It’s already so hierarchical and done so by producer/estate. At least in Burgundy the hierarchy is moreso in the vineyards.

    *** – The first growths, Le Pin, Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Petrus, VCC, L’Eglise Clinet, Lafleur, Yquem?

  11. South_Question6629

    Serious question: will the ranking be about the quality of the wine, or is it based on the experience of visiting the winery? Two very different things…

  12. I am absolutely ready for the chaos of chateaus celebrating and dismissing the stars they do or don’t get.

  13. crashing-down

    This is amazing news for gamay. Excellent to pair with rubber and burned tires.

  14. teddyone

    God dammit gtfo of Burgundy its blown up enough already. Get everyone hype about Bordeaux and Napa Cabs.

  15. Oh man my boys at Rueda aint gonna believe this they just hit the jackpot

  16. Vodskaya

    Could be interesting if they put effort into differentiating themselves from the other publications that do ratings and reviews. Nobody needs Michelin to review DRC and Petrus for the inevitable three stars, and I doubt a star rating for a large house with a lot of SKUs like Jadot would be very useful for their readers. I wonder what this is going to mean in practice, and how this will bleed over into the restaurant side of things too.

  17. CrowCrah

    This is a good thing I would say. The industry needs to get something new to stir interest back into it once again.

  18. this isn’t 1995… true collectors don’t buy on points any longer. A generation ago winos didn’t have accessibility to famous producers. But now with world-wide export-focused distribution & a plethora of tasting experiences wine fans can decide for themselves whether they want to spend on thousands on a domaine’s wines or not. You don’t need a Parker or Suckling to guide you any longer.

  19. blkwrxwgn

    Wait. So are wineries going to need to pay them to rate them like they do for restaurants? A state has to pay for Michelin to go rate their businesses.

    Are they going to do the same for wine?