Inside a traditional troglodyte wine cellar

La dive bouteille: does that ring a bell to you? Probably not! An opportunity to discover the Bourgueil vineyards and meet Guillaume Lapaque. During the visit of his winery, he always evokes the local 16th century French writer, François Rabelais, who imagined iconic characters like Gargantua or Panurge, still referred to in French current phrases. Panurge loved wine so much that he compared it to a divine essence, hence the name of the winery “dive bouteille”. To know more, do not hesitate to visit Guillaume.

La cave de la dive bouteille and its treasures

You will find this wine cellar in the middle of the Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil vineyards. La cave de la dive bouteille does not belong to a wine grower but it is more a generic place ideal for a first discovery of this rich area of Touraine.

First of all, it is a troglodyte museum: you will learn everything about the intensive extraction of the local stone used for the building of our prestigious Loire Valley chateaux but also for more modest homes. Inside the cave, you will admire some of the most gigantic grape presses in France, dated from the 16^th and the 17^th centuries!

Trolodyte wine cellar - Loire Valley, France.

Cave de la dive bouteille

Second, these huge troglodyte caves are essential for the keeping and ageing of the wine. This is the oldest and still the best environment to guarantee a top quality beverage.

Third, let’s go for the tasting at the wine bar, in moderation, always! Can you imagine a sunny day, seated on the bar terrace, savouring one of the many wines available? What an experience! And how unusual: la cave de la dive bouteille is the only wine bar existing in the Loire Valley, located in the middle of the vineyards! Exceptional: You can taste old vintage wines (from 1982, onwards). And, to finish with, take as much time as you wish to do your shopping with Guillaume’s precious advice!