Freixial de Cima Tasting Room
A competition proposal for a wine tasting room at Quinta do Monte D’Oiro in Freixial de Cima, Portugal, developed in collaboration with Studio Boyd.
The building is set into the ground adjacent to the vines, establishing a direct relationship between the experience of tasting and the landscape that produces the wine. Its low, embedded form allows the surrounding vineyard to shape the atmosphere of the space, creating a sequence of sheltered interiors that open outward to the rows of vines.
Materials are drawn from the site and its context, with rammed earth walls formed from the vineyard soil, paired with limestone floors, oak joinery and compressed cork elements. This palette reinforces the connection between building and ground, giving the interior a tactile, grounded character that reflects the process and materiality of wine making.
The wider landscape forms an integral part of the proposal, with a sensory garden, fruit trees and water rills extending the experience beyond the building. Planting is selected to reflect the character of the wine and the seasonal cycle of the vineyard, creating a setting that supports biodiversity while remaining closely tied to the rhythms of the site.