Join me in a new series for Last Week in Denmark, where we spotlight stories from the golden internationals who made Denmark their new home, and sprinkle their touch on our growing, Northern European melting pot…
I met Daniel on a Wednesday evening in Copenhagen. The spring sun had been shining all day, but the evening chill reminded us it’s not summer just yet.
Daniel Frumusachi, 25 years old, originally from Moldova, is the co-owner of Not Your Usual Wine bar, in Copenhagen, and we sat down to chat about his journey and current life in Denmark.
Moldova is a small country on the eastern edge of Europe with roughly half the population of Denmark. Moldova is well-known for its wine production, but it has been significantly affected by the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Daniel greeted me warmly, with a big smile behind his glasses and a jolly attitude. When seeing him, you would have a hard time guessing this calm and polite young man decided that the first time he would ever fly on an airplane, he’d jump out with a parachute and sabre a bottle of champagne. Or that, when faced with many closed doors because of his age and perceived inexperience, he knew the only way to be noticed was to tell all the TV stations he would be breaking a world record. Or that he would go on to co-own the bar in Copenhagen, where he was washing dishes 6 months before.
He has now made Denmark his home, embraced its values, and created a gathering spot for wine lovers of all kinds, that he calls “The unofficial Moldovan Embassy in Denmark”.
Life in Moldova
Daniel is originally from a small village called Domulgeni in the north of Moldova, which he now remembers fondly.
“Being born in a village and growing up there, it’s a very nice experience,” he tells me You are always in contact with nature. You don’t always appreciate it when you’re young, but now I appreciate it a lot. It’s part of me. I dream to move out of the city, to have a house, to have a garden again.”
Like many countryside homes in Moldova, his family had a small vineyard to make enough wine for home consumption. As a child he remembers this was very hard work.: “I told my mother: ‘Listen, I will grow up, become rich and then I will never work in a vineyard again!’ But now I’ve changed my mind. I would love to have a vineyard. To connect with nature, it’s like meditating. I love it.”
Years later, as a teenager, he felt the pull of the grape vine, and while others his age were considering becoming doctors, lawyers or engineers, he knew he wanted to work with wine. But his family didn’t fully understand his decision:“ They were angry. They’d say, ‘Why work with wine? It’s something without potential blah, blah, blah. You’ll be an alcoholic.’” says Daniel, laughing while remembering.
Today he’s very happy he defied everyone and went his way: “I’m super happy that I did it. And, of course, they are super proud of me. Having a business, and having a career already at this age, so they’re super proud.”
Not your Usual
Daniel is now the co-owner of a wine bar in Central Copenhagen called Not Your Usual (wine bar). He took it over from its previous owner in 2023, after having worked there as a staff member only 6 months before. The place has changed a lot since he’s been running things.
“When I took it over, it was more usual than unusual,” he laughs, “Half the menu was Eastern European wine, the other half, more conventional western wines. And we changed it to 100% unusual wines. No wines from France, Italy or Spain. Only Eastern Europe.”
Most of the bar’s customers are internationals. About 65% internationals, and 35% local Danes, according to Daniel. And most of the customers are under 40, as they seem to be more open to unusual wines.
“If people are open minded it’s easy. But some are not open to trying new stuff, they are skeptical,” he says. “Sometimes people can come in, look at the menu and leave. I see it as a challenge. I love to introduce people to these new wines. I’ll sometimes play games, or even give them a blind tasting, so they can see they would love them.”
Wine comes into the picture
I wanted to find out more about where this drive came from. Daniel’s values of hard work and of always moving, were instilled in him when he was a child. While studying the wine industry, he didn’t just want to follow the schedule, and study the farming and production aspects. He wanted to learn more. He decided to become a sommelier:
“I wanted to do more, much more and much faster. At the age of 16, 17 I became very curious about being a sommelier. But I had to wait until I was 18. And had to find the money for it. But the second day after turning 18, I got accepted into the sommelier school. All my colleagues were 30, 40, 50 years old. I was the baby of the class”.
Breaking into the industry by breaking a record
However, becoming the youngest sommelier in Moldova, didn’t open any doors for Daniel. Quite the opposite. The industry was fierce and they were not about to let a kid into their circles. He realized he had to make a name for himself in the wine industry in a way that would really grab attention .
So he decided to attempt to break a Guinness world record. He found what he wanted to do, he asked around for some sponsors and eventually set it up. He called all the TV stations and told them in a week he’d be doing it. He sabred 49 bottles of champagne in 30 seconds, in front of cameras and many curious onlookers.
“I was 19, and it was the 23rd of June, 2019. I ended up on TikTok, TV, getting millions of views etc. I was young and a bit stupid, and it’s good to take risks when you’re young. As an adult I might not have taken these risks. In Eastern Europe it’s harder to be accepted as a professional if you’re young. It’s tough to find partners. The last winery sponsor accepted my offer: I just wanted the bottles, not any money. I was lucky there was another young guy in charge of their marketing department.“
Then his next idea was to sabre a bottle of champagne while skydiving. His mom only found out after watching it on the news. He was on a roll. He was recognized. Companies and people were reaching out and the future seemed bright.
War and love
That was, until February 2022, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That changed everything. The economy started suffering, getting work was harder, and the future didn’t seem as bright. Even so, he wanted to stay, but he was also madly in love. His girlfriend, on the other hand, wanted to experience life in another European country. She was determined, and Daniel decided to follow love instead.
They started thinking: Where? He’d been to Copenhagen before, at an event for Not Your Usual wine bar, and he contacted the owner, who had previously offered him a job: “I called the previous owner, Corneliu and asked – Is the offer still available? Yeah, okay. I’m preparing all the documentation and will come – That’s it. We made this decision while having a coffee on the terrace, and it took like 10 minutes.”
Starting from scratch in a new culture
The first days were tough for Daniel, going from being somewhat of a celebrity, to nobody knowing him and working in the kitchen. “When I first came here, I didn’t know English, so it was a hard fall from being very successful and known in Moldova, to cleaning dishes and bussing tables,” he remembers. “ I had to do that at first because I couldn’t speak good enough English. After 2 months of trying to speak English, I was good enough to start interacting with customers.“
Only 6 months after starting work at the bar, the previous owner decided he wanted to sell the place. Daniel decided to embrace this opportunity. He’s also very grateful to his partner for taking a chance in partnering with someone so young, with the financial risk that involved.
Daniel seems to fit very well in his adoptive culture. Although there’s one small barrier many people struggle with:
“Especially in my industry, we have fantastic people, friendly people. There is one thing, and it’s a boring answer, and that is the Danish language. I don’t speak it yet, because I wanted to focus on English. I need another year or so of practicing my English, and then I plan to start learning Danish. But I really like the Danish mindset, the work philosophy, how they treat each other, and the values. For example, where I come from the customer is always right. But here, the one who is right is the one who is right. You’re more comfortable doing your job here. “
Plans for the future
As you might expect, Daniel is not the type to just be content with the current state of things. He dreams big, and even has another record brewing:
“On the 1st of June 2025, we will try to break another Guinness world record. Most bottles sabred in 1 minute. The current record is 68, but I want to go over 80 or even 100. We will block the street and invite over one hundred people.”
When asked about the role of the bar, and what is should be for the people of Copenhagen, Daniel reflects:
“We’d love to become a place where people know each other, a place that’s genuine and personal. I’ll happily invite the guests into my home. It’ll be a place with a soul. And maybe we’ll open more bars in the future. Whether the guests are just students, or billionaires, in this place everyone should be equal, and treated the same. When I’m old and gray, I want people to remember me as a good guy. Someone everyone could talk to.”
It definitely seems to have become a common spot at least for the Moldovan community in Denmark: “We don’t have an embassy, so here is where we promote our food and our culture, we celebrate national days, sometimes with sarmale, with plǎcinte,” Daniel says “We are kind of ambassadors.“
As we sip the last few drops of delicious wine, he leaves us with these last thoughts:
“If you have a dream project, an idea, an investment, don’t worry so much about succeeding, as long as you enjoy it. You can take chances in Denmark. Take a chance on your dream. As they say: “If you don’t take the risk, you won’t drink champagne.”
