Vinmonopolet

The institution was founded in 1922 as a government-owned company as the result of trade negotiations with wine exporters, mainly in France. The ban on alcohol was lifted, and sale was allowed through outlets run by Vinmonopolet.

Since 1939 the state, initially through the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and later the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, has been the sole owner, buying out the private shareholders while remaining a stock company.

The company's import and production activities ceased in 1996 when the EFTA ruled that the monopoly was in violation of the EEA agreement. The company divided into the created company entity Arcus which continued all production, import and distribution activity of spirits, leaving Vinmonopolet as a sole retail monopoly.

In 1999 the format of the outlets was restructured, making nearly all stores self service from the previous format of sales over the counter, and internet sales began in 2002.

Special shops

Initially, two Vinmonopolet outlets were launched in 2005–06 as "special stores" category A, located in Oslo (Briskeby, relocated to Vika in March 2010) and Bergen (Valkendorfsgaten), and a branch of smaller category B stores in were added during 2012–13 in Oslo west, Sandnes, Hamar, Sandefjord and Trondheim. In February 2014 the Bergen Valkendorfsgaten store was adjusted to category B on a par with the other five limited special stores, leaving Oslo Vika the sole category A special store, and the sale of fine wine and beer in Sandnes was divided between two outlets, Sentrum and Kvadrat. In January 2015 the flagship specialty store moved its location from Vika to Aker Brygge.

The special stores arrange major launches of new products on six occasions annually, to supplement a special selection (of approximately 750 products at category A level) that is not available in the ordinary product list, of wines, fortified wines or beers, described to be "either innovative, of limited availability or of an exceptionally high quality". Each launch carries a theme, and while there may be changes from year to year, regular fixtures are the launch of wines from Bordeaux in December, wines from Burgundy in February, wines from Germany in April, Champagne and Chablis in May, and beer and U.S. wines in October. Smaller groups of products that fall outside the launch themes may appear at any other time during the year. As with all wine purchases in the normal outlets, Vinmonopolet guarantees the provenance of these uncommon wines, and the customer retains the regular right to return faulty wine for the money back within five years of purchase.

Though the available quantities of the special release wines can be very limited, some wines so sparse they entail minimal purchasing quotas in order to reach a wider public, prices may be as low as ⅓ or ¼ of world market value. As a result of considerable enthusiasm surrounding these product launches, customer behaviour has come under criticism for sinking to an uncivilised level.

Vinmonopolet is not established on Svalbard. Instead the government can license private alcohol shops, of which there is only one, "Nordpolet" in Longyearbyen. In addition mining companies can sell alcohol to employees. There are monthly sales quotas on Svalbard. The taxes and therefore prices are much lower on Svalbard than mainland Norway.

Rødvin

When the German occupation forces withdrew from Norway in 1945, there remained behind 400,000 litres of Bordeaux wine which became the foundation of the generic "Rødvin" ("Red wine"), the best selling wine in Norway over several decades, which is accredited as a cornerstone in "cultivating Norwegian drinking culture". Nicknamed "Château Hasle" (from the location name of the Vinmonopolet headquarters) and "Sekskroners" ("costing six kroner"), sales of the brand are estimated in excess of 120 million litres, it eventually ceased being the national top seller due to the arrival of inexpensive Chilean and Italian wines by 1998.

The initial blends consisting of Bordeaux wines from the 1934 and 1937 vintages, along with simple German and Italian wine, were sold from 1 January 1946 for NOK total of 4.50, both Rødvin and Hvitvin (White wine), all sold out by 1947. As the successive imports of wine from Algeria, Tunisia and Chile marketed under other names failed to sell well, an initiative was made in 1949 to compose a new blended wine for the people, affordable and easily drinkable. Purchasing director Haakon Svensson was given a set budget and assigned to negotiate deals with wine producers, initially securing deals with winemakers from Le Midi, Valencia and Algeria, with an aim to produce a blended wine that could decrease the Norwegian people's vast consumption of liquor, at the time ten to one the ratio of the consumption of wine.

On sale from 1 February 1950 at the total price of NOK 6 (NOK 4 + 50% tax), the price remained fixed until 1968, causing it to be widely known as "the six kroner wine". By 1970 it cost NOK 7, and by 1990 it had risen to NOK 43. Normally blended from 5 to 10 wines, from locations that later also included Cyprus and Turkey, Rødvin was in 1972 responsible for 40% of all wine sold in Norway, leading up to the peak of its popularity in the 1980s. In 1981 there was sold 3.8 million liter, while by 2000 Rødvin production had been transferred to Arcus and annual sales had decreased to 700,000 liters.

In August 2014 it was announced that bottles of Rødvin would be removed from the standard Vinmonopolet shelf selection by the following October, following a run of 54 vintages, after this to be available by order under the altered name "Folkets Originale Rødvin" (the people's original red wine).