A first urban winemaking cellar has opened in the heart of Lyon

Lyon, September 15, 2020. Grégoire Saint-Olive in the first urban wine cellar to open in the city center.

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• The Saint-Olive cellar recently opened in the center of Lyon, a stone's throw from the banks of the Rhône.

• This is the city's first urban wine cellar.

  The wine is vinified there from musts from vineyards near Lyon.

Wine vinified from A to Z in the heart of Lyon.

A few weeks ago, when the harvest began in the surrounding vineyards, the first urban winemaking cellar opened in the 6th arrondissement, a stone's throw from the banks of the Rhône.

This project was imagined by two brothers, Franck and Grégoire Saint-Olive.

“Since 2014, we have been producing our brand of wine with producers.

From Côtes-du-Rhône, Crozes and Côtes-De-Provence, says Franck.

But this model has its limits because we are not at home.

We wanted to have our own tool ”.

A still confidential concept

From 2017, the brothers began to take an interest in the concept of urban cellar, born in the course of the 2000s in the United States, before arriving recently in Europe, in London and Brussels in particular.

In France, urban winemaking remains confidential, with cellars open in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne.

The concept is simple.

“It is about doing something local and all the stages of wine-making in the city”, summarize the two brothers who, to bring their project to life in Lyon, surround themselves with Marie Ody, cellar master.

The owner of the Saint-Olive cellar, the first urban cellar to open in Lyon.

- E. Frisullo / 20 Minutes

To produce their wines from the sector's grape varieties (Chardonnay, Viognier, Syrah and Gamay), the Lyonnais work with four winegrowers they know, whose vines are located less than 60 km from Lyon, in Breuil, Quincié-en -Beaujolais, Lantignié, in the Rhône, and Malleval in the Loire.

“We do a lot of work upstream so as not to make mistakes in the plots we choose,” explains Marie Ody.

The type of wine desired, more mineral or fresh, woody or even structured, depends on multiple criteria including grape variety, soil, orientation and exposure of the plot, or even the harvest date.

First “made in Lyon” bottles in spring

On delivery in the center of Lyon, the grape juice (musts) are placed in stainless steel vats installed on the first level of the Saint-Olive cellar.

There, begins the natural process of wine making which will last several months.

The first “ready to drink” wines will be completed and bottled next March.

For vintages with aging, aged in oak barrels for eleven months, it will however be necessary to wait until August 2021. But before the release of the first vintages “made in Lyon”, the public can come and discover the cellar, follow the wine making process. winemaking or even taste the wines produced until then by the two brothers and those of the four partner winegrowers.

To run this place, whose creation cost 600,000 euros and was financed in large part thanks to private investors, wine enthusiasts, the Saint-Olive brothers are also betting on the event part.

A room can thus be privatized by individuals or companies for tastings.

Workshops are also offered to allow those who wish to taste the different grape varieties before making their own blend and leaving with their bottles labeled with their name.

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