Whether one is allowed to mention «James Bond» and the city of Bern in the same breath is perhaps a valid question.

However, the gateway in Bern's old town, which opens into the realm of Maurice Bridel, Andreas Schlumpf, and Christian Ress, has a certain Bond-like quality: Located right on the cobblestone-paved Kramgasse 46, a wood-paneled descent leads down into the vaulted cellar of this historic property.

300 Square Meters

The door opens, as if by magic, with a chip card.

The visitor descending the stairs enters a spacious member club covering 300 square meters, where everything revolves around the queen of drinks—wine.

A Playfully Chosen Name

This is where the first wineBANK in Switzerland will soon open. The name is playfully chosen, as the establishment has relatively little to do with a financial institution.

Historical vaulted cellar (Image: zVg)

There is a bar room with «by the glass» devices, where members can serve themselves a curated selection of around 15 wines in different quantities.

Masculine Aesthetics

Additionally, there are various inviting seating areas. The aesthetics are deliberately masculine: dark wood, natural stone, leather, and indirect lighting dominate the design. The interior design was developed by the Frey & Frey architects.

The real centerpiece, which arguably also ideologically supports the name wineBANK, is the vault: a separate, optimally climate-controlled area with lockers of various sizes, where members can store their own wine. The largest compartments can hold over a hundred bottles.

Zurich Family Office Involved

At the pre-opening, we meet the three initiators of the Bern wineBANK: the German winemaker Christian Ress, who invented the concept and is rolling it out globally; the Bernese restaurateur Maurice Bridel, who took the plunge in Bern; and Andreas Schlumpf, a Zurich family office executive.

Perfect temperature and humidity: Lockers in the Bern wineBANK. (Image: zVg)

Schlumpf explains the history of the property: Originally, the legendary Bernese restaurant Mistral was located on the ground floor and in the two basement floors. Here, Bernese residents could eat, drink, and smoke until the early hours of the morning (a cigar lounge is also part of the new wineBANK).

Open 24/365

After this establishment closed more than ten years ago, the ground floor was rented out to a clothing store. However, the two basement levels remained unused until the wineBANK idea took hold.

The wineBANK concept itself originates from the Rheingau region in the German state of Hesse. Here, winemaker Christian Ress, who runs the Balthasar Ress family winery in its eighth generation, came up with the idea in 2009 to create a private member club for wine lovers that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

15 Cities Tapped

Members can open a bottle from their own locker at any time of day or night, or they can serve themselves by the glass from the vending machines in the public area or purchase full bottles from a separate retail section.

Ress expanded this program internationally through a franchise system. Currently, there are wineBANKs in 15 cities, including Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, and Washington. By the end of the year, there will be 18.

Around 100 Francs Per Month

The franchisees—in the Bern case, local restaurateur Maurice Bridel—are free to design their own wine selections. However, as the inventor Christian Ress explains, the membership card of any club opens the doors to all other wineBANKs.

In Bern, the membership, which includes one of the lockers, costs around 100 francs per month.

Switzerland Becomes Part of the Family

For the winemaker, the opening in Bern is a joyous occasion, as Switzerland becomes the latest addition to the wineBANK family, following Germany, Austria, and the USA.

That the first Swiss location opened in Bern is more or less due to the luck of the draw and the slow grind of bureaucratic processes.

Zurich: 800 Square Meters Planned

A project in Zurich is also in the works, where former PwC executive Martin Zuan, who runs a wine import business, is pursuing an ambitious 800-square-meter project in the city center.

And in Geneva, a private banker has secured the franchise rights.