The Wine Museum

France is the largest wine producer, the birthplace of famous grape varieties: Cabernet, Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay.

In the Middle Ages, the capital of France was surrounded by beautiful vineyards. In the 15th century, near the site where the Wine Museum is located today, there were vineyards and a Franciscan monastery stood. This monastery—Passy Abbey—was famous for the wine produced by the local Minim friars, which was to the taste of Louis XIII himself, who visited the monastery. A century later, hot springs were discovered at the same place, which were rumored to cure female infertility. That's why the street is named Rue des Eaux ("Street of Waters").

During the French Revolution, the monastery was plundered, and the wine cellars were forgotten for a while. In the 20th century, one of the owners of a Parisian restaurant decided to convert the wine cellars in the monastery's underground gallery into a museum dedicated to wines and everything related to them. The museum was officially opened in 1984.

The Wine Museum acquaints its visitors with the history of winemaking from ancient times to the present day. Here, one can explore the museum's unusual cellars—spanning about 1 kilometer (the basements of the former Passy Abbey)—which display the tools of winemakers, a rich collection of bottles, barrels, ancient goblets, ceramic vessels, wine labels, as well as a collection of corkscrews.

The museum features scenes from wax figures capturing events in the history of winemaking in France, as well as its most famous connoisseurs, including Bacchus, Dionysus, Napoleon Bonaparte, Balzac, Louis XIII, and also monks depicted at work, which give an insight into the different stages of wine production. In the restaurant halls, at wooden tables, tastings of collectible French wines, thematic evenings, seminars, and lectures about wines and their history are held.