Oslo store erects tent as customers brave four-week wait in sub-zero temperatures.
While it’s seen as perfectly normal to queue for days for tickets to a concert or sporting event, camping out to get your hands on a bottle of a favourite wine is a little left field.
But that’s what several Burgundy lovers have done – in Norway, in January – in their eagerness to be the first to sample some top labels, including Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Several set up camp outside Oslo retailer Vinmonopolet, with the queuing beginning on January 12, a month before the February 9 launch; the store graciously erecting a tent as temperatures dropped well below zero.
The store often sees queues ahead of fine wine releases, with Burgundy proving particularly popular due to the rarity of some of the region’s top labels. There will be around 530 different cuvees released, mostly from the 2020 vintage, however, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines will be from 2017 and 2018, with their 2019 and 2020 vintages kept back for another 12 months.
Norway’s state alcohol retailer operates a first-come, first-served policy, with some of the most sought-after labels limited to one bottle per customer.
