The Permanent exhibition: A voyage of discovery to the heart of wine cultures

Over the millennia, following human displacement and in a variety of climates, vines have established themselves, grape varieties have spread and wines have been traded across the world.

A cloud appears to darken the sky, projecting its moving shadow onto the vast terroir table, depicting a vine landscape with rugged terrain. The scent of wet earth emerges. Life-size silhouettes of men and women stand around the edge.

Wild vines are creepers which produce few grapes. Humans have been domesticating them for millennia, selecting, pruning, tending, harvesting and studying them – and also celebrating and telling tales of them, elevating them to mythical status.

For a long time, the transformation of grapes into wine appeared to be a supernatural manifestation brought about by divine beings who violently shook the vessels where turbulent fermentation would take place.

Fresh and fruity wines, rich wines, wines for laying down, everyday or celebration wines... A style to suit everyone! Despite this huge diversity, the wines of the world can be split into six major families: dry white, red, rosé, sparkling, fortified and sweet. 

Beginning in the highlands of the Caucasus, vines and wines invaded the ancient Mediterranean world then spread across the whole of Western Europe, before crossing oceans and conquering the planet.

Wine, a trade and commerce product since its creation, has crossed the oceans. It accompanied the crews of this era, gave merchants their wealth, and thus helped to create links between people on different continents.

By turns food, medicine, sacred object, precious ingredient, and source of wealth or torment, over the course of five centuries of culture, wine has established itself as a fundamental element in the history of societies and human relationships.

During the 20th century, the world changed and with it the image of wine: an object of desire, it has now become a ‘trendy’ product.

Since birth, we have discovered the world using our five senses. Sight. Hearing. Smell. Taste. Touch. What could be more natural, instinctive or familiar?

Wine is a matter of taste and era. Numerous famous men and women have been and still are passionate wine-lovers, keen advocates of the sensations and impressions awakened by tasting.

Painters, sculptors, poets, novelists, filmmakers, composers... Numerous artists of all eras and origins have depicted the relationship between wine and love, even eroticism. 

In the beginning God gave the vine to Noah, Biblical patriarch and prophet from the Koran.

Wine and humans, friends or foes? In societies where wine traditionally has a presence, whilst happy drunkenness is tolerated, no one is unaware of what uncontrolled intoxication or addiction can lead to.

Wine is inextricably linked to the concept of sharing and conviviality, and tasty treats are never far away. From the most modest of picnics to the grandest of tables via the French art of gastronomy, it celebrates a particular art of living.

Everything you ever wanted to know about wine... How do I choose a vintage? How do I store my bottles? How do I serve my wine and what food do I serve with it? What are the new trends among producing companies and wine consumers? 

In Bordeaux, city and wine are bound in a strong, almost intimate relationship reflected throughout history. Discover the intersecting trajectories of the city and its landscapes, or how a great commercial port gave birth to a land of mythical wine. 

Bordeaux may now be famed across the world for its wines, but its history has been a series of golden ages and crises.