The Exposition Universelle des Vins et Spiritueux was a museum dedicated to
alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
on the island of
Bendor. The island is in the
Var
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
department in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
in South Western France.
The museum is open in July and August, and admission is free of charge. It is closed on Wednesdays.
Mission
The collections shows the evolution of brands and drinks throughout time and the cultural influence of wines and spirits.
The museum was created to keep a “complete and permanent encyclopaedia of wine and spirits”.
At the opening of the museum Ricard pledged that "This is not a simple event, it is permanent, eternal, and its expansion will never stop".
History
The museum was opened on the 12 July 1958 by the owner of the Île de Bendor, industrialist
Paul Ricard
Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...
(1909-1997). Ricard was the eponymous founder of
Ricard Ricard is a surname, as well as a Catalan name. Notable people with the surname include:
* Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard (1771–1843), French general under Napoleon
* Hámilton Ricard (born 1974), Colombian footballer
*Jean-François Ricard (bo ...
, a manufacturer of
pastis
Pastis (; oc, Pastís, ; or ) is an anise-flavoured spirit and apéritif traditionally from France, typically containing less than 100 g/L sugar and 40–45% ABV ( alcohol by volume).
Origins
Pastis was first commercialized by Paul Ricard ...
.
The museum has two directors, Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown.
In 2007 the museum underwent conservation, carried out by a team of experts and volunteers.
The conservation process discovered more than 5000 wine and spirit labels and more than 1000 menus and drinks lists dating back to 1860. The 2007 conservation also discovered dissertations on viniculture and distillation, which had been presented at the EUVS during the 1960s. The papers had been presented before modern technological advancements in spirit production.
The museum possesses a collection of 8,000 bottles of wines and spirits from around the world. The museum also includes a collection of alcoholic ephemera dating from the 1860s including glassware, crystal, labels, restaurant menus and wine lists.
The museum is also the site for conferences on wines and spirits.
The EUVS hosts a freely accessible online library with a database of rare bottles and searchable library of vintage menus, drinks lists, distillation books, and cocktail books.
Art
The entrance to the museum is guarded by statues of
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
and Vigne, which were carved by the Provençale artist
Louis Botinelly
Louis Botinelly (26 January 1883 – 28 March 1962) was a French sculptor.
Biography
Personal life
Botinelly was born on 2 January 1883 in Digne-les-Bains, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France. He died on 26 March 1962 in Marseille.
Career
He ...
.
The exterior ceramics were executed by Mirielle Ginard and Henri Couve. Frescos inside the museum depicting the history of the wines and spirits were created by artists and art students.
George Potier painted “The Secret of Making Anise” and also created the initial logo for the museum.
“The Warriors’ Wine" was executed by the Milanese artist Gianni Bursamolino.
With Ricard, Bursamolino launched a competition that invited art students to create the other frescos in the museum.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official site and databaseÎle de Bendor - The EUVS Museum of Wines and Spirits
1958 establishments in France
Food museums in France
Museums in Var (department)
Wine museums
Drink-related museums