A look inside La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux

Looking for a great city break? Look no further and head to Bordeaux. Not only are there plenty of charming wine bars, but you'll also find La Cité du Vin here. An architectural gem and a MUST-VISIT for any wine lover.

La Cité du Vin: a playground for wine lovers

The exterior of the building is just as impressive as the interior. The architects, Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières, envisioned incorporating the rounded forms of the wine world—the swirling of your glass, the curves of a vine, the meandering Garonne River—into the design. As far as I'm concerned, they've succeeded.

La Cité du Vin, isn't it a picture?

The entire museum is a playground for wine lovers, starting with the Concept store . Not wine, but pretty much everything related to it. From a corkscrew to a set of bowls you can put on your bottle. Handy for camping. Next door, you'll find Latitude20 , a wine shop like you've never seen before. There are 800 wines from over 70 countries. France is included, of course, but also Namibia, Peru, and Bali—to name just a few.

A tour of the museum is equivalent to a basic wine course

The exterior, shop, and concept store are worth a visit in themselves. And then the real work begins. According to press officer Aurélie, who gives me a tour, there's enough material for ten hours. So, feel free to spend a whole day exploring. Enjoy lunch in the bar or the top-floor restaurant with views over the city.

The wine museum begins with an overview of the wine countries. From Spain to the regions of Germany, each country is presented, and the most important wines are explained. For example, Geneviève Janssens (Robert Mondavi Winery) speaks to me about Napa Valley . Upon entering, you receive a kind of iPhone look-alike, complete with a headset. The entire presentation is available in all languages, even Dutch.

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My favorite is the room dedicated to the colors, aromas, and textures of wine. Here, you can smell various aromas, like biscuits and pencil shavings (we are in Bordeaux, after all). The textures are visualized through shapes and materials. For lack of better words, we use words like rough , silky , and round to describe the mouthfeel. Oddly enough, we all understand what's meant by a round mouthfeel (soft, with little noticeable acidity), but we never use the opposite—say, "the wine is square."

Just smell it

Say cheese. Oh no, say peppermint.

Workshops all day every day

It's not just about looking—we're in a wine museum, after all. Tasting is also allowed. Workshops are held daily at set times. Levels vary, from beginner to advanced, and there's even a tasting workshop for children (no, not with wine).

During my visit, I participated in the " Prendre un verre aux marchés du monde " (Take a Glass to the Markets of the World) workshop. This workshop brings together multiple senses—hearing, smelling, tasting, and seeing. It takes place in a circular room with 360-degree images that hint at what's in your glass. I wasn't entirely blown away by that. When you think of images and aromas of Provence and Italy, who thinks of prosecco? Well, the prosecco is served in a black glass, so that's always amusing. Before we move on to the next round, our instructor briefly explained the difference between bulk prosecco and the DOCG version. Crucial information for any bubbly fan.

Hot tip: try it with a black glass.

A final tip to La Cité du Vin

If I could suggest one point for improvement, it would be the restaurant's wine list. Haha. Did I really say that? Yes, I did. What I expected was to be able to try a glass—perhaps a sample—of Château d'Yquem. Or one of the Grands Crus de Bordeaux? For a fee, of course. I was ready to pull out my wallet.

People come here from all corners of the world. Last August, they welcomed their millionth visitor. Sure, some experience it the way I experienced the Guinness Factory in Dublin years ago (no words), but others find it all wonderful and would prefer to end their visit with something grand. Right?

Maybe that's the problem? Isn't there enough wine?