On September 2, a new system came into force as Sweden’s Systembolaget, the giant of alcohol monopolies, changed the model for all their stores, hoping to further help customers find what they are looking for – but as always, with the health of the general public in mind.
Plenty of people are curious about the change, so I hooked up with a very special Frenchman, hovering the floors of the Systembolaget’s flagship store on Regeringsgatan 44 in Stockholm – wine connoisseur Philippe Cordonnier.
A trained sommelier, he arrived in Sweden in 1994 with experience from a two-star Michelin restaurant among other culinary merits. Around 2000 he finished off his long education in oenology with a degree at Restaurangakademin.
After our paths first crossed, he quickly became my favourite guide when looking for that special bottle. Apart from working in the food field with establishing concepts for trend-conscious Stockholm restaurants and bars like Riche and Sturehof, he was also a partner in the street fashion brand and store Boutique Sportif. But after too many long and loud nights in the business, Philippe turned to another establishment for his wine passion in 2009 when he joined Systembolaget, and with that, got himself some regular working hours.
These days, he works mainly with sales on the floor, concentrating on the wine cellar department at Regeringsgatan, Systemet’s store inside NK. Only three stores in Sweden can call themselves a wine cellar, with a more specific and specialized range of products, with smaller, more exclusive quantities. The other two shops are in Malmö and Gothenburg, but the very same products can be ordered and picked up at any store all over Sweden.
I ask him about his position and what he thinks about the new model Systembolaget is launching nationwide.
“I mainly work here in the cellar with sales, but I also work with the Systembolaget customer tastings. This is a service open for anyone over 20 that is not under influence of any substance, and you can easily purchase a ticket for yourself or as a gift in our stores or over the net”.
The tastings he mentions comes in different price ranges, as well as in every possible other category – interest, region, price, vintage, you name it.
“The system we have here for the range of products and the assortment will change from September 2. The customers will meet a more orientation-friendly order on the shelves, built upon the geography in the first instance, followed by price. So it’s red wine/country/price, white wine/country/price and so on.
It’s been more than ten years since Systembolaget underwent such a major change, and their staff seem hopeful.
”It will be much easier for the customers to orientate in the stores, easier for them to find the right bottle, as each store will be stocked with a range of products according to the customer demand of that store. The range will be monitored and updated according to customer demand, so every store will be unique and more focused on their specific group of clients. Our range will mirror our clients in a more natural way.”
It’s not just the range and placement of the bottles that will change, either – well-known symbols for food matching and the “taste clocks” are also undergoing an update.
“You will see a change in the taste and character guides, mainly because we have seen so much happening in the beer business and also with the assortment and popularity of whisky. Particularly in the past ten years, there has been an enormous increase in the knowledge and interest in drinking culture and we need to be on top of that. There have been huge trends in beer, from micro- and nanobreweries all over the world. In the wine world, really pale rosés has been widely popular as well as the interest in natural wines. The next big thing, and something that is growing a lot, is the non-alcoholic beverages and the quality is peaking. I really love the Swedish “äppelmust” of the autumn”.
I finish off by asking him a few more personal questions about his own taste and interests in the wine world.
“Personally, I love sparkling wine. I know it might sound like a cliché and might be too wide to define. I also hold southern Italy as high as Beaujolais in France as a region. These two areas that have been favourites for a long time”.
What are the best and worst combinations of wine and food?
If you want to make someone really happy, serve Brillat Savarin (a triple crème, soft, white-crusted cow’s milk cheese) with a glass of Blanc de Blanc, preferably from a Grand Cru location and they will love you. Serve real bitter food with bitter drinks to someone you don’t like.
We here at Totally Stockholm are looking forward to exploring this new, updated store system and with all respect to Systembolaget’s integrity and equality principles, we have chosen not to publish any wine tips this time.
Words and photos by Pär Strömberg
