Winery Quinta do Portal

Quinta do Portal is a family winemaking company, embracing the "boutique winery" concept. The vineyards of 100 hectares (altitude 200-550m.) and the gravity-flow winery are located in the Pinhão river valley, a small tributary of the Douro that flows from North to South through the terraced hillsides (fig.1). The dream of the owner Eugénio Branco was to offer an architectural master piece to the Douro Valley, a sophisticated and innovative project intergrated with the specific landscape. Álvaro Siza Vieira describes his second project related to wine as follows: "The new cellars of Quinta do Portal were built within an already built complex, a unit that dominates and is dominated by the landscape. There is no doubt that, whenever active, agriculture moulds the landscape. This is the first reason for the beauty of the Douro. The winey is by nature a disciplined building. The functional needs, as well as the space, humidity and temperature needs determine its expression. It's isolated in the space: discipline that is extended to the territory." (Porto, 18/11/2008)

Through the metamorphosis of the materials -schist and cork- and the use of colours following each season's hue, the winery finally gets a clad of 2051m2 organized in zones (fig.7). The building's frame is made of concrete and steel, both visible in the interior spaces. The program includes a visitors' centre, an auditorium of 74 people, a tasting room and underground cellars (fig. 8-12).

The winery was designed like a sculpture in the landscape, with a strong horizontal character. The main base is orthogonal, having only two openings -the main entrance door and a smaller on the other side of the main elevation- (fig.5). The building is designed as "an invitation for the discovery of the flavours and aromas" and the roof as a frame to the wonderful "kingdom" of the Douro (fig.13, 14). The terrace's open and closed spaces are organized by a curved wall surface, being also partly covered with sod. Finally, the dual finishes of the openings and the long open-air stair of schist cladding are noteworthy details (fig.6, 15).

Quinta do Portal Cellars won the Douro Architecture Prize in 2011 and Best of Wine Tourism in Architecture and Landscapes category (Global Winner).

*The property Quinta do Portal includes the winery, Casa das Pipas (12-room guest house, awarded the best of Wine Tourism both and 2008) and Casa do Lagar (4-room guesthouse in in an old olive oil mill and press). The four large vineyards are: Quinta dos Muros, Quinta da Abelheira, Quinta do portal and Quinta do Confradeiro, all replaned between 1978-1997 and all under sustainable farm management methods, like non-mobilization of the soil, nonutilization of residual herbicides, usage of organic correctives etc. (http://www.quintadoportal.com)

Title: Winery Quinta do Portal
Architect: Álvaro Siza Vieira
Owner: Eugénio Branco Location: Sabrosa, Vila Real, Portugal
Date: 2001-2010
Building Area: 4,722.25m2
Photographs: Fernando Guerra, FG+SG

Presented by Eva Kapadoukaki