Nils Flaaten

For the past 32 years, Nils Flaaten has run the Flaaten wine store in Oslo, first founded in 1893. He has developed it into one of the most significant private wine merchants in all of Norway. After joining the family business in 1987, he became the first wine trader in Norway to include Mosel Rieslings from renowned German estates in his portfolio. He has added piece by piece to that roster over time and now boasts 60 wines from various German winegrowing regions.

In the early 90s Nils Flaaten was initially ridiculed for his dedication to German wine, as at that time the image of German wine in Norway was dominated by a few brands of sweet wine. And yet as the global Riesling renaissance began to unfold and the image of German wine experienced a remarkable turnaround, his name also began to grow.

As a pioneer for German wine, and for Riesling in particular, Nils Flaaten helped shape an entire generation of sommeliers, importers and employees at his enterprise, helping restore Riesling and other wines from Germany to their former prestige and market leadership for white wines in Norway.