The wine room is not only a storage space, but also a hobby room

After a few demanding Covid years with a lot of time at home, many Norwegians have developed a strong interest in delicious food and wine, and more than ever have acquired wine rooms. Fredrik Andersen is one of them, and we asked him a few questions.

Could you tell me a little about yourself?

My name is Fredrik Andersen, I am 39 years old, have a wife and two children, live in Oslo and work in IT.

My interest in wine has developed over the past 15 years. It started when I received a couple of bottles of wine as a gift, and I thought it was fun to see which wine would go with which food. My interest has grown and I have received more bottles. It is fun to follow how wine develops – and not least to save some wines and open them on the right occasion a few years later.

The interest has grown and culminated in a wine room last year. The wine room is also a gathering or hobby room, and not just a place to store wine.

Where did you place the wine room?

We cleared out a basement in the house. There we converted a storage room of about 15 m², where the wine room now covers most of it. Outside we have a couple of chairs where you can sit with a glass or two.

There is room for around 800 bottles, and I try to buy up a little cautiously. It's tempting to fill up the room right away, but tastes change, so a wine that was a favorite a couple of years ago may not be the most exciting today. That's why I think it's good to have some room to grow.

How did Vinrommet AS (Daniel M. Berge) help you?

I met Daniel M. Berge when he delivered wine rum to a neighbor, and saw how nice it turned out.

He set up the entire wine room in collaboration with craftsmen, who cut holes for the unit, laid parquet and so on.

I think many people envision two different models: one is to just have a cold room, the other is to create a gathering place that can also function as a living room where it is pleasant to be. We thought it would be nice to also have a place where we could sit and drink a glass of wine , so we landed on the latest model.

I got some drawings from Daniel and made adjustments to them. The design process was iterative – a bit step-by-step, back and forth in a positive way – a good collaboration and good sparring along the way.

I am satisfied with the job in every way.

How was the preparation in relation to pricing and professionals?

I've been looking at wine rooms for a while, and have seen prices that have been much higher – around 3 times what I got from Daniel. So I'm very happy with the price.

I paid 100,000 kroner for the elements of the wine room + the work, and then the decor came in addition.

Was it easy to set it up and how long did it take?

Daniel first sent a proposal, where only a small part of the wall was glass, and which functioned a bit more like a cold room. After thinking about it, however, we realized that we would like to have a solution where the entire wall was glass. We therefore drew up a drawing with a full/entire glass wall.

It took three weeks to prepare the design and get the order, around two months to get the glass and cooling elements delivered and only a couple of days for the setup. All in all, 2.5 months.

What was the biggest challenge?

It was really the design process, what it was going to look like. There is a very great scope for opportunity here – what should the interior be like, how much should be in glass and how much space should the unit take up. Many choices have to be made along the way, and you have to live with it for a number of years. However, it was a very enjoyable process in every way!

Was there anything that went easier than you thought?

The whole process was actually painless. No major issues that stopped it, and the installation itself took less time than I had thought.

What type of door did you go for?

Glass door – 2 sliding glass doors.

What kind of generator did you buy?

One Thermocold unit, EC10 .

I have a meter inside the room that continuously measures the temperature and humidity in the room. Both have been incredibly stable – the room maintains a completely even temperature throughout the day. So I'm very happy with that!

Are you happy with the design?

Yes, definitely. Both functionally and aesthetically, I think it turned out really well – a good space solution.

Have you received any complements?

Yes, absolutely. I think people think it's turned out great.

Daniel posted a photo on Instagram of my wine room, and the first Like was from Vin Bjørvika – it made my day!

Has anyone you know been inspired by your wine room?

Yes, there are many people who plan to get a wine room.

You don't regret it?

No, I don't regret it – both because the quality of the work was very good, and it's an investment in pleasant company as well as a safe place where the wine can be stored – many parameters that hit the mark well.

What are your favorite wines?

First of all, I think wine is fun because there is so much variety.

I used to only buy one type of wine from Italy, now there are many different ones. I find it fun that there is such a big difference between the countries, the grapes, and so on.

Burgundy wine and British sparkling are some of the favorites.