What SYMPOSIUM WINES AS does

Symposium Wines AS is a Norwegian wine importing company founded in 2009 by Master of Wine Sebastian Bredal and headquartered in Rotnes, Viken, Norway. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vingruppen AS, Norway's largest wine importer, and operates as one of six dedicated companies within that group. Symposium Wines maintains a curated portfolio of international producers spanning Italy, France, Germany, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, the United States, Spain, and Greece — including names such as Masi Agricola, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Champagne André Clouet, Louis Roederer, Dog Point Vineyards, and Weingut Loersch — and competes on producer storytelling and breadth of price points rather than own-brand product development.

The company's go-to-market is dual-channel: it distributes through the state-run Vinmonopolet retail monopoly (the primary off-premise wine channel in Norway) and directly into the Norwegian HORECA sector (hotels, restaurants, and catering) via Vingruppen's Vectura ordering platform. Its small five-person team is structured around portfolio curation and brand management — Managing Director Caroline Uhlen, Wine Director Sebastian Bredal MW, Senior Portfolio Manager Paula Pinilla (WSET Diploma), Brand Manager Thomas Ingebrigtsen, and Junior Brand Manager Johan Aares — rather than logistics, with parent-level infrastructure absorbing distribution scale.

Commercially, Symposium Wines generates revenue as a wine wholesaler/importer by selling bottled product from its producer portfolio to Vinmonopolet and HORECA buyers; pricing at retail is set by the Vinmonopolet framework and is not independently disclosed. Marketing is conducted via the Vingruppen corporate website, an email newsletter, organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), and participation in wine events and fairs such as Rieslingmessen and Minimesse.

Name

SYMPOSIUM WINES AS

Legal name

Symposium Wines AS

Website

https://symposiumwines.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Symposium Wines AS is a Norwegian wine importer (founded 2009, Master of Wine Sebastian Bredal) and subsidiary of Vingruppen AS, distributing a curated international producer portfolio through Vinmonopolet and the HORECA channel in Norway.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wine Import and Distribution

NAICS

Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (42482), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (424820)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Alcohol Importers & Brand Owners (Wholesale) (CRAOAIAB)

Keywords

• Wine import
• Wine distribution
• Wine wholesale
• HORECA supply
• International wine portfolio

Headquarters

HQ city

Norway

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wine Import and Distribution: Symposium Wines AS imports wines from international producers and distributes them through the Norwegian Wine Monopoly (Vinmonopolet) and HORECA sector. The company acts as a wine importer/wholesaler, generating revenue through the sale of wines to retail and restaurant customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Symposium Wines AS imports wines from a curated portfolio of international producers and distributes them in the Norwegian market through two channels: the state-run Vinmonopolet retail monopoly and the HORECA sector (hotels, restaurants, and catering). The company focuses on sourcing quality wines at various price points and shares the unique stories of its wine producers and brands.

Product overview

Symposium Wines AS is among Norway's largest wine importers, established in 2009 by Master of Wine Sebastian Bredal. The company operates as part of Vingruppen AS and distributes wines from numerous international wine producers across the Norwegian market through the Vinmonopolet system and the HORECA channel. The portfolio includes wines from producers such as Masi Agr., Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Weingut Loersch, Les Grands Chais de France, Champagne André Clouet, Robert Moncuit, Viña Santa Rita, Bernabeleva, Wongraven Wines, Robert Mondavi, Louis Roederer, Dog Point Vineyards, and many others across wine regions including Italy, France, Germany, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, USA, Spain, and Greece.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wine Portfolio (Producer Portfolio) Curated portfolio of imported wines from international producers including Masi Agr., Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Weingut Loersch, Les Grands Chais de France, Champagne André Clouet, Weing. von Winning, Robert Moncuit, Viña Santa Rita, Max Kilburg, Odfjell Vineyards, Kir-Yianni, Sigalas, Domaine des Tourelles, Az. Agr. Azelia, Giuseppe Mascarello, Soldera di Case Basse, Chiara Condello, and Schug Carneros Estate, distributed to the Norwegian Wine Monopoly and HORECA channel.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Broad incumbents

• Treasury Wine Estates: Large global wine group (Penfolds, Beringer, Sterling) that distributes in Norway through Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Comparable as an established multinational competitor with Norwegian listings, though it owns production rather than acting as a pure importer.
• Pernod Ricard Norway: Global beverage major with a Norwegian subsidiary that imports and distributes wines and spirits through Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Competes with Symposium for listings and on-premise accounts, but at significantly larger scale and portfolio breadth.
• Moët Hennessy Norway: LVMH-owned wines and spirits division distributing prestige Champagne and wine brands (Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot) into Norway through the same Vinmonopolet and HORECA channels Symposium serves, making it a relevant luxury-wine incumbent peer.
• Anora Group PLC: Listed Nordic beverage group that owns Vingruppen AS and thus sits as parent of Symposium Wines. Operates a much broader wine and spirits portfolio across the Nordics and is the closest publicly traded incumbent comparable for the wider Norwegian wine-import business Symposium operates in.

Direct peers

• Heyday Wines AS: Another Vingruppen-owned Norwegian wine importer distributing through Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Same ownership, channels and customer segments as Symposium Wines, with a curated international producer portfolio — a near-perfect structural and operational peer.
• Arcus Wine Brands: Norwegian-based wine and spirits group importing and distributing internationally sourced wines to the Norwegian Vinmonopolet and HORECA channels. A direct competitor to Vingruppen subsidiaries like Symposium, with comparable scale and channel strategy.
• Wongraven Wines: Sibling wine brand/importer within Vingruppen that brings international producers to the Norwegian market via Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Closely overlaps Symposium in model, channels and end customers.
• Vinordia AS: Sister company within Vingruppen AS that also imports and distributes wine into the Norwegian market through Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Operates under the same parent and channels, with overlapping producer portfolio and customer base, making it the closest direct comparable.
• Excellars AS: Sister Vingruppen company focused on wine importation into Norway via Vinmonopolet and HORECA. Identical business model, distribution channels and target customers, making Excellars a direct structural peer to Symposium.
• Strøm AS: Vingruppen-owned Norwegian wine importer operating through the same Vinmonopolet and HORECA channels. Directly comparable in scope, customer base and go-to-market model to Symposium Wines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/410955642407868
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/symposium-wines-as
• Instagraminstagram.com/vingruppen_norge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SYMPOSIUM WINES AS