Introducing you to Endre Weibye from Fun Fuel!

We are excited to introduce you to Endre Weibye, one of the three founders of Fun Fuel. He grew up in Røyken, and has his degree in civil engineering. Endre started a consulting company in 2014, and they are now a team of three people offering services within Test Management of IT-systems. As a wine importer, Endre gets to work more professionally with something that has been an important hobby to him for a long time.

«I grew up with a father who had a wine cellar and an interest in wine. I guess some of my own wine interest probably started there,» Endre says. «Later, during my studies, I tried a variety of wines with some of my friends from university, and we even tried to make wine. It was of poor quality, so it became a short-lived project.»

Wine collection gets its own home

Adding to the narrative of his wine hobby, Endre says he has become more and more interested in wine over the years, after various trips and visits to vineyards around Europe. Endre has now been collecting wine for the past 20 years, and when he moved to Røa in 2012, a new house became the perfect excuse to create his very own wine cellar.

«I have now collected a selection of different wines, including many exciting dessert wines. If I have bought too much of something, or if I'm missing something in particular, the Blomqvist auction is something I use a few times every year,» Endre explains.

After many years of interest in wine, Endre has acquired a substantial amount of knowledge within the area. He still wanted to formalize this competence, and has therefore also taken certifications through WSET in more recent years.

«I completed the certification for WSET3 last year, and I am considering starting on the Diploma, which is WSET Level 4,» Endre says.

A team that works well together

When thinking about the start of the journey as a wine importer, Endre says that he and Stig André Jacobsen from Fun Fuel had discussed the possibilities of starting something together for a long time. These plans gained momentum when Stig and Jostein Ausland from Fun Fuel were traveling in Australia, and discovered an exciting wine producer.

«Their visit to Lindsay Wine Estate, which we are currently partnering with, meant that we had to actually get started. We got some samples from them, and after we had picked out which wines we wanted, we were officially started. That was the foundation, and later we have also entered into partnerships with Vinosko and Secondé-Simon,» Endre details.

His new role as a wine importer has been exciting so far, and Endre says that Fun Fuel has given him many good experiences. He especially appreciates the positive feedback on the wines they are selling, meeting customers and the unity of the team behind Fun Fuel.

«I am very lucky to get to work with two great guys, who in addition to being dedicated to the tasks related to wine import, are also great socially and always a good time to be around - there is always a positive vibe when we meet,» Endre says.

Many exciting projects in progress

Endre also finds the very process of professionalizing an important hobby has been exciting, through for example getting to know the production, logistics, sales channels and how the market works.

«It is also interesting to follow our own products over time, to see both changes over time for a vintage, but also over several vintages. Since parts of our product line are transported by ship, you also learn that you sometimes have to be patient,» Endre details.

As for the future of Fun Fuel, Endre says that he is looking forward to the times ahead. Fun Fuel is actively working with hotels, restaurants and catering companies that can potentially be a good fit for their wine selection. They also have several other projects they are working on, which Endre is looking forward to sharing with other wine enthusiasts.

«We are participating in several fairs this year, and hoping that it will give us access to more store shelves. This summer we will also receive two wines with our own label, Fun Fuel Shiraz and Fun Fuel Chardonnay, which will be fun to follow up on and present to the Norwegian market. More info about these wines will be shared in May and June, so stay tuned for that!» Endre says.