On Monday, the prestigious competition "Wine + Dessert Latvia 2026" took place in Riga for the second time, dedicated to the art of wine and dessert compatibility and the cooperation of chefs and sommeliers. This year, fourteen restaurants from Cēsis, Jūrmala, Riga and Līgatna presented their gastronomic duets. The event took place in the "Whitehouse" restaurant, gathering industry professionals and lovers of haute gastronomy, including the world's best confectioner René Frank from Berlin, the world's best sommelier, Latvian Raimonds Thomson, as well as international journalists.
The winners are all outside Riga
The title "Best wine and dessert compatibility" and the main award from the best Baltic wine dealer "Vyno klubas" (Lithuania) - "Golden fork" - were awarded to the team of the restaurant "Pavāru māja Līgatne". The team presented a bold dessert with caramelized Jerusalem artichoke ice cream, Jerusalem artichoke skin chips, fried Jerusalem artichoke and quince mousse, topped with venison caramel and pickled Jerusalem artichoke. The dessert was served with a sweet wine from the Palatinate region of Germany - "Oliver Zeter Goldschatz TB". The team was represented on stage by chef Juris Dukaļskis and Juris Semjonovs, Latvia's best sommelier in 2025.
��Silver Fork" and "Saltz" special award was given to the winner of the previous competition, the restaurant "Kest" (Māris Jansons, Zane Ķiģele), for the excellent compatibility of the sweet "Oliver Zeter Sauvignon Blanc" with the dessert "Thailand Symphony". The third place and the honorary prize "Bronze Fork" awarded by "Niepoort" was won by the Cēsu hotel restaurant "Villa Santa" (Egils Grīnfeld, Ginta Maurite, Santa Anča, Roberts Brenčens, Elīza Anča) The team also received the prestigious award "Best Latvian dessert", sponsored by the "Cooks Club". Dessert was presented with beetroot and pickled beetroot syrup, and a layer of crispy dough and hazelnut crumble.
The winning wine and dessert pairing will be available to restaurant guests
"This is already the second championship in Latvia, and it went off with great success," stated the chairman of the jury and founder of "Wine + Dessert International" Arūnas Starkus from Lithuania. "We are pleased that the country's leading confectioners, sommeliers and restaurants once again accepted the challenge and demonstrated a high level of culture in the pairing of sweet wines and desserts in Latvia. Although only three winners are officially determined, many of the presented pairings are worthy of special attention. After last year's championship, several restaurants included these matching pairings in their menus, and guests came directly to taste them. This clearly proves that the format works and promotes gastronomic cultures We invite the participants to include the desserts in their menus, and the guests to go and taste them.
After this encouragement and the particularly high evaluation of the jury, the winners of "Pavaru māja Līgatne" promised to include the dessert in their menu, probably already in the next week. Chef Juris Dukaļskis stated that in just two years, the competition has become a celebration of the industry and a meeting place: "We know everyone here, so there was no great anxiety, because it is a meeting with friends and colleagues. We are very happy for the first place and believe that we deserved it."
Last year, the same team won the "Best Latvian dessert" award.
Other special prizes
The jury also awarded several special nominations.
The "Easiest compatibility" award, sponsored by "Akvile" water, went to the team of the "3 Pavāru Restorāns" restaurant (Pāvel Skopa and Kitija Bartonika). The dessert "Echo" was presented in combination with the wine "Domaine de la Touraize Vin de Paille 2016".
The "Best Wine" award, sponsored by "Liebherr", was won by the "Zero etiquette" team, represented by Maksims Kolomazhnikovs, the chef of the "Koya" restaurant, and Arnis Kalviškis, the sommelier of the "Vieta" bar. The French wine “Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru 2014” was served with the dessert “Madame sur le Chaume”.
The "Most Instagrammable dessert" award, sponsored by "Copenhagen Sparkling Tea", went to "Gongu" restaurant (team Pēteris Vaskis, Vlad Saveljev, Oleksandr Kosovskyi). The Japanese dessert “Shōtotsu” was presented to match the “Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Auslese 2017”.
Although the other places in the competition were not awarded, the chairman of the jury, Arūnas Starkus, revealed several restaurants that were very close to the winners in terms of points and left a strong impression on the jury:
The strongest composition of the jury in the history of the competition
The international jury included recognized wine and gastronomy experts: Arūnas Starkus (Lithuania), editor-in-chief of "Vyno Žurnalas" magazine and founder of "Wine + Dessert International"; René Franks (Germany), chef and founder of the Berlin restaurant CODA, whose restaurant has been awarded two Michelin stars; Amy Wislocki (Great Britain), editor of Decanter magazine with over 25 years of experience in international wine journalism; Aivar Hanson (Estonia), representative of the publication "Falstaff"; Raimonds Thomsons (Latvia), the world's best sommelier in 2023; as well as Aigars Nords (Latvia), founder of "Riga Wine & Champagne", "Bubbles Parade", "Latvian Wine of the Year" and "Baltic Wine & Drinks Awards".