How can you make wine in Bordeaux without owning a vineyard?
It is a question you have probably asked yourself more than once. Becoming a winemaker is a dream for many and VINIV offers you the opportunity to make it come true: experience the art of winemaking in Bordeaux and create your own custom wine, wherever you are in the world.
As a VINIV member, you will not only follow your instincts but also learn, alongside our experienced oenologists, the techniques and methods used to craft the great wines of Bordeaux.
1. Tasting the grape varieties of a Bordeaux wine
This is a true introduction to Bordeaux wines. To create your own wine, it is essential to understand the concept of terroir, the alchemy between soil, climate, and vine.
Whether you choose to take part in a tasting at VINIV or from wherever you are, you will join an interactive session designed to help you recognize the unique characteristics of each Bordeaux wine. The goal is to refine your palate and identify your personal preferences ahead of the next workshops dedicated to creating your own wine.
A few days before your session, you will receive a selection of 12 single-varietal wine samples, carefully prepared to preserve their freshness and authenticity.
2. Understanding the art of wine blending
How do you actually make wine? This is the stage where you find out.
Based on your tasting preferences, you will learn, alongside the winemakers from Châteaux Lynch-Bages, Ormes de Pez, and Haut-Batailley, how to blend different components to create a wine that reflects your personality.
Blending is a true art form, one that requires tasting, experimenting, and making fine adjustments until you achieve the aromatic profile, balance, and flavor you desire.
At this stage, your palate becomes your best guide as you blend your own wine.
3. Immersing yourself in the Bordeaux vineyards
Creating your own wine in Bordeaux also means understanding the origin of the grapes you work with during the workshops. VINIV takes you into the vineyards of its partner estates, where you walk through some of the most prestigious old-vine parcels of the region and discover the know-how required to become a winemaker.
4. Crafting the final blend of your own wine
Now it is decision time! After several months of rest, the wines you have tasted have evolved and their flavors have changed.
To become a winemaker means learning to taste patiently, to adjust with humility, and to work with time itself. This stage allows you to observe the evolution of your own wine and make any necessary adjustments according to your taste.
Our winemakers guide you in refining your formula to create a wine that truly reflects who you are.
5. Choosing the right bottling format
It is your choice how you wish to compose your assortment of bottles: VINIV’s personalized packaging options allow you to bottle your wine in standard format (75cl), magnum (1.5L), or double magnum (3L).
It may seem like a detail but to become a winemaker also means understanding the advantages of each format. Large-format bottles offer ideal conditions for wine aging, as the proportion of air to wine is lower, slowing the evolution of the wine and helping it preserve its aromas for longer.
6. Creating the brand for your own Bordeaux wine
Your wine tells a story and so does your brand. Whether inspired by people, moments, or places that have marked your life, your wine brand should reflect them.
Some VINIV winemakers arrive with a clear vision for their brand universe; others discover it step by step, guided by our team.
At this stage, you will collaborate with our design agency partner based in London, Barlow & Co., who will accompany you through the creative process to develop your brand name, logo, and custom labels, corks, and wooden cases.
This visual identity should meet the same high standards of quality as the creation of your own wine.
7. Bottling your own wine
At this point, creating your own wine takes on its full meaning: everything comes together! During the summer, our VINIV partners and experts assemble the components of your wine, following precisely the formula you have created.
Your wine is then prepared in the blending cellar under the strictest conditions before being bottled. Your Bordeaux wine is finally born!
Let’s talk wine!
In oenology, élevage (ageing) refers to the period between fermentation and bottling. This is when a Bordeaux wine is refined, gains complexity, and develops its character.
Whether you wish to create your own wine or become a winemaker, understanding élevage is essential. A wine may be aged in a tank (stainless steel, concrete, or oak), in oak barrels of various sizes (the standard Bordeaux barrel being 225L), in clay amphorae, or even in glass globes.
Depending on the desired style, the choice of container is key, as is the barrel toasting level, the age of the casks, and whether the wine is aged on lees. Élevage plays a vital role in the final balance of a wine, shaping its aromas, texture, and aging potential. It is the stage that reveals the full potential of a Bordeaux wine.
8. Enhancing your own wine with packaging and labeling
You have made it, you have created your own wine!
Your bottles can now wear their finest attire: capsule, label, back label, and foil.
Once dressed, each bottle is precisely packaged at VINIV, safely stored in your custom wooden case, and kept in a controlled environment.
9. Delivering your Bordeaux wine to your cellar
The delivery of your bottled wine marks the final step of your winemaking journey — a delicate stage that we handle with the utmost care.
At VINIV, we work exclusively with specialized logistics partners chosen for their reliability and expertise in transporting great Bordeaux wines.
You may also choose to collect your own Bordeaux wine directly from VINIV.
Our team advises you on transport solutions to ensure a smooth and seamless delivery.
10. Celebrating the creation of your wine at the closing event
What better way to conclude your wine creation workshops than with an immersive event in the heart of Bordeaux?
This is where your journey and a full year’s work to become a winemaker reaches its culmination.
You are invited at the end of October to a special gathering with fellow VINIV members who have also taken part in the VINIV experience and created their own wine.
In the heart of the Bordeaux vineyards, you will enjoy a final tasting and discover the unique flavors of your very own creation.
Par Marion Clerc, Le Stylo Vert, avec l’expertise de Nicolas Lainé, VINIV.
