A Wine Wonderland Theme Park Opens Today in Bordeaux

Photo Credit: ©XTU-Casson Mann-ANAKA-La Cité du Vin

There’s Disneyland for Disney enthusiasts, Legoland for lego lovers and now, oenophiles finally have a paradise to call there own in the form of a 10-story wine theme park called La Cité du Vin, which opens today in Bordeaux, France.

The 3.3 acre masterpiece that has been designed to resemble a gigantic decanter is the ultimate wine-lovers paradise. As designed by Parisian architects XTU and English museum design experts Casson Mann Limited, the museum’s facade is meant to resemble wine moving in a glass as well as the coiled structure of a grapevine, or, as the museum’s press release states, “Their design captures the spirit of wine and its fluid essence: ‘a seamless curve, intangible and sensual.”

Wine snobs should anticipate visiting each of the museum’s 20 themed areas, which include wine-tasting sessions, educational wine courses and tours, a restaurant, and a wine bar with more than 50 types of wine. There is also a simulated boat tour, which takes you on a wine adventure around the globe. La Cité du Vin also has a highly specialized wine boutique (as befits a place of its stature) where patrons purchase over 80 different types of vino.

“The permanent tour is structured around an array of different experiences: sometimes visitors will be standing, interacting directly with the e-vine or Meet the Experts, at other times they will be seated, or ushered All Aboard a ship for a voyage across the oceans and through the ages, and at certain moments they will need to be almost horizontal to marvel at the starry projections of artworks illustrating the theme of Bacchus and Venus,” states the museum’s brochure.

The wine museum, which took nearly seven years and nearly $92 million to complete, is located in the heart of Bordeaux, one of France’s most beloved wine regions.