What do a casino and a vineyard have in common? Well, when it comes to Monaco, they share a common territory. In the past 150 days, starting 22 June 2013, any visitor staying in Hôtel de Paris or a local living in a centrally-located Monaco apartment could observe a vineyard right in the heart of the Casino square. The ephemeral pop-up vineyard was opened as a part of a year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of Monte-Carlo SBM.
Monte-Carlo SBM is a prominent player in Monegasque hospitality industry. Amongst its property in Monaco are such remarkable establishments as Monte Carlo Casino, Opéra de Monte-Carlo or hotel Hermitage. Created 150 years ago by François Blanc, SBM to this day incorporates his original aspiration expressed as: “Here, we present the dream.” It came as no surprise that the celebration of SBM’s anniversary embodied this ambition to the fullest. Oenology is an integral part of Monegasque heritage. Therefore, on the year of its anniversary for 150 days SBM shared with the public some of its 150 finest Bordeaux Grands Crus wines, part of which came from the exclusive Hotel de Paris wine cellar. Thus, one could easily enjoy a glass of SBM’s selected wine in-between shopping in Metropole Monte-Carlo, attending a business conference in Monaco, or looking through the luxurious real estate in Monaco for sale, as the wine was presented in 20 participating establishments across Monaco.
A vineyard is another part of celebration of Monegasque oenological heritage by SBM. Planted at the Casino square on a small patch of land, the vineyard nurtured grapes, which would be used to prepare the first Monegasque vine. As a result, early this autumn onlookers were delighted to witness an unusual scene of grape harvesting at the Casino square. Though located in an unconventional spot for vine growing, the vineyard was wisely designed by a renowned Mediterranean landscape artist Jean Mus. Some of his previous projects include public gardens in Croisette Cannes, Florentine inspiration in Santa-Barbara and Ritz Hotel gardens in Paris.
Over a period of four months, each stage of vine growing was well respected. As a result, nearly 300 kg of grapes have been picked from the pop-up vineyard. This would suffice to make somewhere around 300 bottles of wine. Besides bespoke clothing, fine food or luxurious property for sale in Monaco, one could soon find an exclusive bottle of Monegasque wine up for grabs.
