For producers

Exporting wine to Norway

What it is, and how it works

How the Norwegian market works

Norway is a small but serious wine market with an unusual structure. A few things shape everything:

Retail is a state monopoly. Wine is sold to consumers only through Vinmonopolet — the government-owned chain of wine shops and its webshop. There are no private wine shops and no supermarket sales.

Restaurants and hotels buy from importers. The on-trade — restaurants, hotels, bars — is supplied by licensed importers, not by Vinmonopolet.

You need a Norwegian importer. A producer abroad can't sell or ship directly to Vinmonopolet, the trade or consumers. An importer with the required wholesaler registration brings the wine in, clears customs, pays the excise duties, and places it in the market. That is our role.

Two ways into the market

As your importer, we take your wine to market through two channels — often both at once.

Retail

Vinmonopolet

The only route to consumers. There are three main ways to be listed:

Special order — a wine listed in the bestillingsutvalg can be ordered by anyone, in any store or online, nationwide. The usual low-barrier entry point — no public tender required.
Core range — the wines on the shelves. Selected through Vinmonopolet's public tenders against a specific brief: competitive, but high volume.
Parcels — one-off allocations and limited special releases.
On-trade

Restaurants & hotels

We sell directly to restaurants, wine bars, hotels and sommeliers across our markets.

This is often where a new producer builds a reputation first — on good lists, poured by people who explain the wine. From there, retail demand follows.

On pricing: Vinmonopolet applies the same transparent mark-up to every bottle — a small percentage plus a fixed per-bottle fee, not a value-based margin. Serious wine isn't punished for its quality; it competes on its merits.

What we handle

Everything between your cellar and the Norwegian customer.

  • Import licence & wholesaler registration
  • Customs clearance, excise duties & VAT
  • Product registration & Vinmonopolet listing
  • Transport, warehousing & distribution
  • Sales to the on-trade and Vinmonopolet
  • Invoicing & payment
  • Labelling & compliance
  • Representation — within Norway's strict alcohol-marketing rules

How it works, step by step

1

Introduction & tasting

We taste, talk, and see whether there's a genuine fit — for the wines and for a long relationship.

2

Selection & terms

We agree which wines, the volumes or allocations, and pricing — typically ex-cellar (FCA).

3

Setup & first import

We handle registration, labelling requirements, logistics and the first shipment into Norway.

4

Launch

Your wine goes live — listed in Vinmonopolet's special-order range and/or presented to the trade.

5

Growth

We sell, reorder, report back, and build the wine's place in the market over time.

Who we work with

We keep a short, deliberate list. We look for:

  • Independent, family-scale producers
  • Wines with character, provenance & a reason to exist
  • Organic / low-intervention where it matters — never as a slogan
  • Growers we want a long relationship with

What we'll need from you

To get started, it helps to have: samples and technical sheets (grape, region, vintage, ABV, bottle size); ex-cellar pricing and available volumes / allocations; any certifications (e.g. organic) and label files; and a sense of your story — who you are and why the wine exists.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell wine directly to Vinmonopolet or to Norwegian restaurants?

No. A producer abroad cannot sell or ship directly to Vinmonopolet, restaurants or consumers. You need a registered Norwegian importer, who brings the wine in and places it in the market — that is what we do.

How do I find a wine importer in Norway?

Get in touch with us. We are an independent Norwegian importer and distributor working with a short, deliberate list of growers. Send samples and your details and we will tell you honestly whether there is a fit.

How do I get my wine listed at Vinmonopolet?

Through your importer. The simplest route is the special-order range (bestillingsutvalg), which needs no public tender and makes your wine orderable nationwide. The core shelf range (basisutvalg) is filled through Vinmonopolet's public tenders. We handle the registration either way.

What taxes and costs apply when importing wine to Norway?

Norway charges an excise duty based on alcohol content, plus VAT; your importer calculates and pays these. At retail, Vinmonopolet adds the same transparent mark-up to every bottle — a small percentage plus a fixed per-bottle fee — so quality is not penalised.

Do I need a licence to export wine to Norway?

The import licence and wholesaler registration sit with the Norwegian importer, not with you. You sell to us ex-cellar (FCA) and we handle the import side.

What do I need to provide to get started?

Samples and technical sheets, ex-cellar pricing, available volumes or allocations, any certifications such as organic, label files, and a short introduction to who you are.

Which markets does Crush Diet cover?

We import and distribute across Norway and Sweden.

Wines with somewhere to go?

If you make wine we'd be annoyed not to have on our own table, we'd like to hear from you.

Get in touch →