Descendientes de J. Palacios Winery in Villafranca del Bierzo
Architect: Rafael Moneo, Valerio Canals, Clara Moneo
Year: 2017
Location: Corullón, Spain
Category: Hospitality / Industry
Status: Built
About
The Descendientes de J. Palacios Winery was located in the town of Villafranca del Bierzo. Its facilities were spread in different structures and warehouses, so it became necessary to reconfigure and gather them all in one building. The desire to blend with the rural context where the winery was born, the respect for the environment (recovering local grape varieties and traditional production techniques), as well as the roots and commitment – even social – with the municipalities of Villafranca and Corullón, were key factors in the choice of site for the new winery. Located in the high part of Corullón, in the region of El Bierzo (León), the new winery blends smoothly with the landscape, deferring to the specificities of the place and recovering ancestral winemaking traditions. The project design is based on two prior conditions set by the owners, both enologists: to use gravity flow as much as possible in the winemaking process, and to let the wine repose 20 meters below ground. The winery’s layout had to be designed with these two premises in mind. This led to the fragmentation of the volumes and their connection through a system of courtyards and paths that would mark the start of the winemaking process up high to end at the dispatch area in one of the courtyards. The site’s contours allow arranging the volumes and courtyards at different heights, using gravity and the terrain’s thermal inertia for winemaking, which minimizes movements and energy use.