In late 2010, the city of Bordeaux, France, announced an international competition to create an iconic cultural venue dedicated to wine, attracting 114 submissions. British exhibition and environmental design firm Casson Mann approached Paris’s XTU Architects to deliver an ambitious vision that ended up winning the competition. Casson Mann conceptualized and art directed all elements of the permanent visitor experience, including audio-visual and media elements. The greatest challenge it faced: How does one evoke the unique flavors, aromas and characteristics intrinsic to different wines—without resorting to the liquid itself?

In response, Casson Mann created a playful series of displays that describes the taste of different wines. Spread across an oval floor space of more than 3,000 square meters, 22 different large- and small-scale exhibits feature interactive experiences to stimulate the senses—sight, sound, touch and smell. Structured into themes, the tour introduces visitors to the rich symbolic and cultural capital of wine. It illustrates the ways in which the beverage’s history, geography, geology, oenology, arts and commerce have shaped the world’s cultures and landscapes, from 7000 B.C. to the present day.

La Cité du Vin opened on June 1, and the response from press and first visitors has been overwhelmingly positive. The venue’s richly textured permanent tour will now welcome 450,000 international visitors annually, its sensory elements poised to surprise, delight and educate.

cassonmann.com