The Musée du Vin (in en, Wine Museum of Paris) is a cultural venue in the

16th arrondissement The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de Tr ...

located at 5, square Charles Dickens,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

next to the Trocadéro and the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

.Musée du Vin ParisParis Information
The nearest métro station is

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

. It opened in 1984.

Overview

The museum testifies to the richness and diversity of the French craft of

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

, through an exposure to tools and objects used to work the grapevine and the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. The collection is shown in an old setting from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and arranged later in storerooms by the Tiny Brothers of the Convent of Passy.

History

Formerly, the hill where the winding galleries of the Wine Museum are located was covered by the vast

oak forest An oak forest is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak forests contain the most closed canopy, compared to oak savannas and oak woodlands. Examples * Southern dry-mesic oak f ...

. Around the 6th century, Nigeon village was growing on the heights of Chaillot, with its crops, vineyards and quarries. In 1493, monks settled here. The area of their community extended to the present-day Water Street (''Rue des Eaux''). The building of the Abbaye de Passy began. The monks cultivated a few acres of vineyards in a closed street, which exist till today. In the hill, they discovered ancient quarries where they created the cellars of the Abbey. From the 17th century, ''Rue des Eaux'' is open water and allows visitors to access the Museum. The name of the street refers to the mineral springs found there and was in great vogue until 1785. Today, visitors can peer at it through a well shaft. The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

of 1789 removed the religious orders in 1790 and terminated the life of the Abbey, which was gradually destroyed. Rediscovered a few years ago, the Wine Museum opened to the public in 1984.

Description

The wine museum is located in old quarries of the Middle Ages, which were used as cellars in the 15th century. The brothers of the convent of the Minims (Passy) then produced wine very popular with King

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

, from the wine harvest of the hillsides of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. The ''Rue des Eaux'', current location of the museum, takes its name from the discovery in the 17th century of hot springs that have been exploited for 200 years. The wine museum is owned by the Conseil des Echansons de France since 1984, a wine brotherhood gathering Amateur Wine purists in France and abroad, and which aims through the museum to "defend and promote the best wines of appellation of french origin" ("appelation d'origine controlée").

Features

Rehabilitated after 1950, the former cellars of the convent of Minims served a while as cellars for the

restaurants, before becoming the Wine Museum, owned since 1984 by the Conseil des Echansons de France. The Wine brotherhood, founded in 1954, aims to defend and promote best appellations of French terroirs. To this end, it organizes many prestigious events in France, abroad, and in the museum. It gathers around the world many thousands of professionals and amateurs who ensure the retention of expertise and quality that make the world-famous

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...

s. The "Conseil des Echansons de France" which runs the museum offers to the public a wide range of cultural activities and events on the subject of the vine and wine; and visits to the galleries where its collections are exposed. The collection is presented in the galleries beneath the hill of Passy.

Collection

A rich collection of more than 2,000 pieces is presented on the tools of viticulture,

and wine tasting. The oldest of them date back a century before

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

to the most recent of the 19th century. Wax figures, some historical such as

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Pasteur or Balzac, depict objects in the collection. In France, more than two thousand years of expertise led to the development of world-famous wines. Generations of winemakers, winery masters, coopers and wine experts have continued to refine their techniques to produce the most prestigious wines. This exhibition pays tribute to their professions. It offers visitors the opportunity to recognize or discover traditional tools, sometimes quirky, often overlooked, which are now part of French heritage. Many in fact are no longer used and are now kept in private collections and museums. They show, for generations to come, the ingenuity of their inventors and the skill of those who mastered their use. The content of the exhibition includes: * The tools of the vine * The wine cellar * Cooperage * Wine and oenology * Objects to serve and taste wine * The traditions of the land

References

External links

Musée du Vin Paris website

Musée du Vin Paris

Wine Museum of Paris
{{Authority control Museums established in 1984 Museums in Paris Food museums in France Wine museums Musee du Vin