The Soul of Wine in the Vortices of Fluids
The Cité du Vin is a museum as well as a place of exhibitions, shows, movie projections and academic seminars on the theme of wine located in Bordeaux, France. Its official opening by the President of France François Hollande took place on May 31, 2016. The shape of the building, all in curves, to the outside as well as inside, has been designed by the architects of the agency XTU and the agency in the English design Casson Mann Limited who wanted to make an iconic building with high visibility. The two agencies have been selected by contest of project management in May 2011. The structure has a form of the vine, gnarled (de cep de vigne noueux) “to remember both a wine, turning it into a glass and the tub of the Garonne river, which borders the site.”
The project of construction of a cultural and touristic center of the wine was born in 2009. A association de préfiguration de La Cité Wine was created for this purpose, composed of the Aquitaine region, Bordeaux Metropolis, the city of Bordeaux, Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux and of the Chamber Of Commerce And Industry of Bordeaux. Its purpose was to ensure, by the construction of a monument, an intermediary between the world of the museum and the theme park, “the transmission, upgrading, and safeguarding of the cultural heritage, universal, and living wine”.
In January 2015, the association was replaced by a Foundation for the culture and the civilization of the wine, which operates and ensures the development such as the promotion of the institution. This foundation has been recognized as a useful publique. Its board of administration is composed of three colleges, the college of founders, the college of qualified personalities and college friends. A steering committee culturelle8 contributes to the definition of its major orientations. The foundation has two ambassadors: actor Pierre Arditi and the taster, wine critic, Robert Parker.
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Materials provided by XTU Architects