Bordeaux's new oenology university and research institute has finally opened.
The Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (ISW), which has taken ten years to plan and build, will be entirely dedicated to the study of winemaking.
The institute, which is situated within the Roccard to the south of the city, will unite Bordeaux's four universities and research institutes under the same roof for the first time.
Bordeaux architects Nicolas Ragueneau and Jean Marie Mazieres designed the modern, eco-friendly building which is made of stone and glass.
Costing €25m, the ambitious project – the largest in Europe – was created using both local and EU funding.
'You can sum up in three words this exciting new centre's mandate,' says Professor Denis Dubourdieu, one of Bordeaux's leading winemakers. 'Research, training and communication.'
'Our ambition is to make a grand cru: we don't want to limit ourselves to local or even national wines or winemakers, but to be able to export our savoir-faire – be it research projects or student – to countries all over the world, in the best Bordeaux tradition,' added Dubourdieu.
The centre includes a state-of-the-art multi-media library, fully equipped laboratories and other specialized wine rooms, including a 70-seater tasting room in which each dégustateur is screened from their neighbours in frosted glass and pale wood cubicles.
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Carla Capalbo