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  • The wine museum in Barolo - Italian Notes

The Wine Museum in Barolo

I had expected a nice, nerdy experience from my visit to the wine museum in Barolo, but was surprised to find full blown family entertainment.

Sandwiched between two Italian school classes, I started to realize that the Wine Museum in Barolo – also called WI.MU – might not be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Italian wine museum. Instead of focusing on soil, grape varieties and fermentation, the Swiss architect François Confino, who’s also designed Turin’s Cinema and Car Museums, takes you on a sensory tour through the history of wine in nature, art, cooking, cinema, music, literature, myth and traditions.

wine museum in Barolo

wine museum in Barolo

Paintings and Pop Songs

Along the way you see fancy multimedia effects, exhibits made to be touched and tampered with, ingenious machinery and cabinet curiosities.

There are power point paintings by Chagall, Caravaggio and Matisse. Famous posters and scenes from Dionysian films like Barbettes Feast, French Kiss, Dracula, and Notorious that illustrate the rituals of wine drinking in our time. And soft chairs where you can sit and listen to pop songs like ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Summer Wine’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’ while on-screen graphics blink in time with the rhythm.

There are three storeys of sensory overload in blackened rooms, and although we had three very knowledgeable and able guides, I was relieved to reach the basement shop, where daylight seeped in. WI.MU. offers an intoxicating experience – though not from wine. So if you go to visit, do bring the kids. They’ll love a museum that zaps through history faster than a remote control. And teh wine museum in Barolo is just one of many attractions in the area.

Italian Notes was a guest of #BITEG and the Piedmont Tourist Board but opinions and mistakes are my own.

More wine tours

Grape harvest in Puglia

Veneto for wine lovers

Sitting on a cloud sipping Marsala

Tanking wine in Puglia

Holidaying at the Adriatic Riviera

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23 replies
  1. Natasha von Geldern
    Natasha von Geldern says:
    July 26, 2012 at 12:11 pm

    What an experience, it doesn’t sound like a museum at all! Love the juxtaposed collection of photos.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:28 pm

      No, this is entertainment. I guess, some would claim it doesn’t take its subject matter seriously.

      Reply
  2. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    July 26, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    Great tips for our next visit in la bella Italia this. All about wine, very contemporary and fun, it looks – and with kids!

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:29 pm

      Yes, a strange combo, isn’t it?

      Reply
  3. Mary @ The World Is A Book
    Mary @ The World Is A Book says:
    July 27, 2012 at 7:29 am

    This sounds like an awesome museum. Who knew wine museums can be so interesting and kid-friendly? This looks like sensory overload but what fun.

    Reply
  4. Leigh
    Leigh says:
    July 27, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    It’s a rare occurrence where wine and kids can overlap. Sounds like a fun museum – but no Barolo tastings?? Bummer.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:31 pm

      Yeah. You can buy wine in the Barolo Museum shop, and no one leaves the town of Barolo thirsty.

      Reply
  5. admin
    admin says:
    July 27, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    Ooops – Forgot to mention that you can get tastings – I did, but I think you have to be part of a group and book beforehand. There’s also a shop where you can flash your credit card to your hearts delight. So, plenty of opportunities to experience the genuine Barolo effect.

    Reply
  6. Steve
    Steve says:
    July 28, 2012 at 9:03 am

    The sensory rooms sound great to me. Since I don’t drink, wineries don’t really hold all that much interest to me. It’d be nice to have something else to do than watch other people drink.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:32 pm

      I can understand that:)

      Reply
  7. AdriBarr
    AdriBarr says:
    July 28, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    Wow – what a cool place. I have never heard of it. Thanks for the info.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:33 pm

      It’s quite new – opened in 2010 – so you are excused.

      Reply
  8. Cathy Sweeney
    Cathy Sweeney says:
    July 29, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    The Barolo wine museum sounds very interesting. I’m impressed by the diverse exhibits. But no wine tasting??

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:37 pm

      Ah, you won’t have to walk far for a sample. That’s for sure. Cheers.

      Reply
  9. Stephanie - The Travel Chica
    Stephanie - The Travel Chica says:
    August 10, 2012 at 12:06 am

    This is right up my alley! Definitely want to go there one day.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:36 pm

      See you around then:)

      Reply
  10. Cipri @Travelocafe
    Cipri @Travelocafe says:
    August 16, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    It’s for sure a fun museum to visit.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:36 pm

      Yes, I sure had a good time.

      Reply
  11. Eleanor Marriott
    Eleanor Marriott says:
    August 31, 2012 at 7:55 am

    Coincidentally, I’m heading there today so thanks for mentally preparing me. It sounds like I’ll need a drink after all that sensory overload.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      September 4, 2012 at 7:34 pm

      I’m sure you’ll find a suitable little enoteca.

      Reply
  12. Darby Higgs
    Darby Higgs says:
    May 20, 2017 at 11:26 pm

    Pinned to my board Learn about Wine https://au.pinterest.com/vinodiversity/learn-about-wine/

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      May 31, 2017 at 7:00 pm

      Thank you. I appreciate that and will follow the board immediately.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Tips on wine tasting in Piedmont » Italy says:
    January 9, 2013 at 6:23 pm

    […] is better for kids than for adults: it’s more of a show than an education about wine as this reviewer notes. I really enjoyed my visit to the Banca Del Vino, a sort of wine library, in nearby Pollenzo. The […]

    Reply

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