Wine Has a Museum. Of Course I Went.

When I was first told where we were going, I was like: Wait… you can put wine in a museum? Then the YouTube video was shown to me and I was like… oh yeah, we’re going there. After being told about a trip to Bordeaux, I knew there would be wine. #Obviously. What I didn’t expect was just how much dedication there was to explaining everything around the wine.

More Than Just Bottles on Display

We visited La Cité du Vin, this very impressive curved, swirly building that honestly already tells you this isn’t going to be a traditional museum. It was a nice, easy trip from where we were docked, and everything inside was really well organized. And nope, there wasn’t free wine being served everywhere—although there is this huge circular wine shop sitting right there at the entrance/exit, so they certainly know their audience.

There was so much history packed into this place. If you’re a sommelier—or thinking about becoming one—I honestly don’t know how you could go to Bordeaux and miss it #don’t. But it’s really good for everyone, especially if you want to dig a little deeper into wine. One thing that surprised me was seeing just how many regions around the world grow different grape varieties. Obviously, I knew wine went far beyond France, but seeing everything presented together gives you a completely different perspective.

The interactive sections were easy to use; there were more than enough of them, and some were surprisingly advanced technologically for a museum about… well, wine. Some areas almost felt like they were experimenting with different ways of using technology to make the subject more immersive, welcoming, and to measure the response, rather than just putting information on a wall and expecting you to read it.

Smell This… If You Dare

When I tell you the amount of detail they put into this museum to cover everything from newbies and rookies to actual experts… the sensory stations alone were something. I knew smell had to be part of the experience, obviously, but they went all out. Some beautiful aromas, some familiar, some strange—and then there was barn… Ok, I don’t know who decided this was something my nose needed to experience, but unfortunately it remains one of my strongest memories from the museum.

I get it—the museum is showing that wine vocabulary includes aromas that aren’t necessarily pretty or, in my mind, necessary. But smelling everything individually actually made some of those tasting descriptions finally make more sense to me, both for reds and whites. However, I made the “smart” decision of smelling the barn one last— which, sometimes I think that was good, but… instead of thoughtfully remembering everything I’d just learned, my nose needed recovery time. That smell basically wiped out all the information I had gathered from the other aromas.

From the Vine to the Glass

After this, though, I still have plenty of good memories—just not the last sensory one… What continued to impress me was the detail everywhere else: grape varieties, wine history, vineyards, pruning, growing and the differences between regions. You could actually see the differences in color and size among the grapes, which helped connect some of what we learn about things like tannins, color and ultimately what ends up in each bottle. I took pictures of the grapes specifically because I really wanted to make sure I remembered this information later.

Obviously, I Left With Wine

And yes, there was an impressive selection of wines. We behaved ourselves and left with only one—which, considering where we were.. deserves some recognition. It wasn’t exactly an easy decision either; with that selection staring back at us, there were plenty of tempting options. I also picked up my usual souvenir, which eventually made its way home and straight onto my fridge.