Past Event:
8/12/2021

The Cité du Vin is a unique cultural facility dedicated to the universal, living heritage of wine. It serves as a museum, as well as a venue for exhibitions, shows, movies, and academic seminars on the theme of wine. It offers a spectacular journey around the world, throughout the ages, across countless cultures and civilizations. Here, wine comes to life through an immersive, sensorial approach, all set within an evocative architectural design. A must-see experience during any stay in Bordeaux, brought to you virtually via this introductory online visit.

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Embark on an adventure through time and continents to discover the world of wine. Through some twenty digital spaces, the Permanent Exhibition of the Cité du Vin invites you on a journey to the heart of the great history of wine. Come and discover how this universal heritage has inspired people and shaped both their life and their territory for millennia. Immersed in interactive universes, seated virtually with the great figures of history, or even by testing your senses, 3,000 square meters await you for individual and collective, educational, immersive, dreamlike multi-sensory experiences.

 

 

Meet Our Tour Guide
 

 

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Solène Jaboulet

Marketing and Communications Director

Foundation for Wine Culture and Civilisations

La Cité du Vin

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After graduating from HEC Paris, France’s leading business school, and earning a masters in international management from ESADE (Barcelona), Solène began her career in management and strategy consulting. She joined Thomson, later Technicolor, as a business development manager on projects related to new technologies. Returning to France after an expatriation in New York, she entered the telecom market in 2004. Solène held several positions at SFR, in strategy, marketing, and program management, where she developed numerous partnerships with media players. In January 2013, she put her expertise in very competitive markets at the service of the energy sector for ENGIE, where she took responsibility for customer marketing and digital, before becoming Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of ENGIE, for retail customers.

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Passionate about the cultural world, she joined the Cité du Vin in February 2018, and has since then focused on improving visitors’ experience and developing awareness of the Cité du Vin in France and abroad.

 

 

Visiting La Cité du Vin – Bordeaux’s Wine Museum

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IRA SZMUK for In DISCOVER BORDEAUX, updated 10/12/20
 

The Cité du Vin is one of the most popular attractions on the tourist trail in Bordeaux.

In the last couple of years, it has become one of Bordeaux’s most iconic institutions even though it’s quite new. The Cité du Vin was inaugurated in 2016 with the goal of celebrating wine and educating people about its production and history. The spectacular building can be seen from afar and uplifts the port of Bassin a Flot, where the museum is located. Its shape is inspired by the movement of wine swirling in a glass. What’s inside the 55m giant and why do so many people rush to visit it? In this article, you will catch a glimpse of what is considered to be the best wine center in the world. I’ll explain what you’ll experience in the main exhibition, what other attractions are offered and why it’s worth visiting even if you’re not a wine lover. Step with me into Bordeaux’s fascinating wine world.

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What will you find in Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. 

The Cité du Vin is an amusement park for wine lovers. It’s an interactive journey into the wine world offering anything from videos, touch screens, sensory tables and more. On your journey you will discover all the important wine regions in the world, learn about the different types of grapes, the fermentation process and on the history of wine in different areas across the globe.

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The permanent exhibition includes 19 sections divided into six areas.
The first area is dedicated to the wine regions of the world and welcomes you with huge screens portraying breathtaking images from the world’s most famous wine regions. It’s a beautiful video getting you into the mood to learn everything you can about wine. 

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The second part is much more technical and will teach you about the whole process of how grapes turn into wine. Although there are quite a lot of technical explanations involved, the Cité du Vin made it interactive and entertaining enough to intrigue even those not obsessed with wine. One of the best sections in this area is the wine portraits. Flat touch screens, surrounded by gigantic wooden bottle shaped statues, help you explore the major wine types, from red to sweet whites and onto the sparkling ones. 

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The third area is about wine and civilization. Here you’ll learn the history of wine routes and what the sea voyages of wine transportation used to look like. The fourth part is dedicated to imagination and has a magnificent space where you can lay down, listen to music, close your eyes and think of wine. 

The fifth area is called “Lifestyle”, and includes my favorite part in the museum, the “Buffet of the Five Senses”. Plenty of different food items from fruits to honey and cookies are presented in front of you on two big tables, allowing you to explore different wine aromas. The sixth and last area is dedicated to the hosting city, Bordeaux. Here, you will learn about the wine history of the biggest wine region in France and the tale of the city itself. 
 

When you finish exploring the exhibition, you will move to one of the best parts of the visit – the wine tasting.

For that, you need to go back to the ground floor and take another elevator to the 8th and last floor of Bordeaux’s wine museum. The floor is called the Belvedere and offers a breathtaking panoramic view of Bordeaux. You can choose one wine from one of the regions the exhibition is currently focusing on and take your glass to the balcony to admire the view. A perfect ending to this enriching experience. 

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Click here for more information. 

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