With a slow and silent descent into the depths of the earth, seeking an introspective experience, groups of a maximum of 15 wine tourists can enter the new large winery where Perelada produces its most iconic wines. It is a colossal but sustainable construction of 18,200 m² integrated into the landscape, the work of the Olot RCR architectural firm. In the words of the architect Rafael Aranda, from the famous office awarded in 2017 with the Pritzker prize, "the visitor enters different atmospheres from emotion, understanding the respect with which each phase of the process of creating wine is approached. Anyone who enters the new winery will feel that this land of wines is giving them a visit with soul”. Aranda adds that "the winery raises a floor in movement on the ground through the formalization in strips, and it is understood as a volume linked to its topography, remaining fully integrated and moving away from the conventional idea of a building."
The least visual impact and functionality has been prioritized in this new winery which has cost more than 40 million euros and which was inaugurated at the gates of Perelada's centenary. It aims to be the icing on the cake for DO Empordà producers and "one of the largest, most comprehensive and diversified wine tourism projects in Europe". The labyrinthine tour of the winery offers an immersive experience in the five vineyards of Perelada (Pont de Molins, Malaveïna, La Garriga, Garbet and Espolla) and in the architecture and sustainability project of RCR Arquitectes (founded by the architects Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta).
The itinerary continues through walkways located three meters high, so as not to interfere with the dynamics of the oenology teams. The visits to the new winery have been conceived along the lines of experiential wine tourism, "projecting the family's dream, its commitment to the territory, architecture, sustainability, quality and wine tourism".
The winery, which aims to be the turning point to place Perelada and Empordà wines on the national and international map, announces itself as "the meeting point between an avant-garde oenological proposal and a project based on architecture, sustainability, integration into the territory and top-level wine tourism”. The architectural project, after three years of work, was structured based on the landscape and the land. They assure that the experience is especially "mystical" in the space that they have baptized as the Temple, "where the overhead light envelops this space for excellence, creativity and oenological experimentation in a magical halo".
El Templo is a space dedicated to creativity where they make iconic wines such as Finca Garbet or Gran Claustro, special reserves or the so-called Ex Ex (Exceptional Experiences), which are the result of the winery's research programs. The new winery has the capacity to produce 2.5 million bottles of wine.
Based on an old disused farm projected in 1941 by Adolf Florensa, RCR Aequitectes designed the new intervention, which takes advantage of the existing unevenness and becomes a singular viewpoint over the landscape. Two decades ago they started the project, where everything has been thoroughly and carefully rethought. Javier Suqué, president of the Peralada Group, affirms that "this new winery opens to society a legacy of decades of family dedication, linked to a terroir that falls in love with its differential heterogeneity and character - close, elegant and genuine - and which is marked by its location between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean”.
In addition to the old farm, they have recovered an old yellow Hispano Suiza with which they distributed their products, and on whose door it reads “Pink. Cavas del Ampurdán Perelada”. Suqué acknowledges that "when I started working at the age of 25 in our wine business, I already thought that I would love to build a new winery on the old farm." In 2004, the Suqué Mateu family commissioned RCR Arquitectes to begin shaping a singular project for the construction of the new Castillo de Peralada winery, which stopped with the economic crisis in 2008 and resumed in 2016. In 2017, it was presented the project, which was inaugurated in May of last year. They have been making it, however, since the 2020 harvest.
The director of the winery and the Perelada tourist complex, Eugeni Llos, affirms that since June last year some 25,000 people have already visited the winery, a figure that they had not expected to reach until 2025. Llos assures that "what we prioritize, more that quantity is that the tour is an emotional experience, after which people better understand the passion and effort behind each bottle, and can understand what makes the Empordà a unique land”.
The new Perelada winery was recognized in 2021 as the first European winery to obtain the LEED® Gold rating, the world's largest sustainable building certification, granted by the U.S. Green Building Council. This qualification accredits the high standards of sustainability and efficiency that its facilities meet in their construction, operation and maintenance. Among the pillars of the project are the use of geothermal energy, the efficient consumption of water and electricity, the choice of materials and sustainable processes, thermal insulation and the predominance of natural lighting.
The foundations of the winery with deep foundations allow interaction with geothermal layers. The building has 538 piles at a depth of between 8 and 20 meters, 331 of which are used as heat exchangers with the ground; in order to reduce consumption of heating, cooling and domestic hot water, achieving energy savings of about 37%. From a comprehensive vision of the water cycle, its consumption is reduced both within the building, with the combination of efficient taps and rainwater. They use a sustainable irrigation system and take advantage of rainwater for gardening. In addition, the 700 m³ rainwater storage tank and the drainage network that facilitates the infiltration of water into the subsoil within the plot itself, favor the natural cycle of water, and reduce the saturation of the sewerage and treatment plants.
The building uses very low consumption lighting and favors the entry and use of natural light through the roof and through an advanced management system. Likewise, 100% of electricity consumption corresponds to certified renewable energy. The winery has also incorporated environmental criteria in the selection of materials, giving preference to recycled materials and local extraction and production, with the aim of reducing the ecological footprint of the building. Likewise, all the wood used has the FSC® Forest Stewardship Council forest certificate (world reference seal of certified quality wood guarantee). On the other hand, the architectural design has been designed to reduce the energy consumption of the building through a high level of thermal insulation.
In the space dedicated to the aging of the wine, the cave effect is produced thanks to the climatic advantages generated by the contact of the walls and the floor with the ground. The warehouse of the winery adapts to the terrain respecting the landscape, both formally and chromatically and aesthetically. This condition also allows for gravity flow of grapes and must. Thanks to the conception of the winery divided into two levels, upper level (entry of the grapes) and lower level (vinification, aging and refining of the wine), the force of gravity is used to reduce the mechanical impulse. The design of the exteriors of the plot maximizes open shaded spaces, thanks to plant species from a Mediterranean climate. These green areas protect from the heat, to which the use of light-coloured outdoor pavements also contributes.
They have incorporated the innovative Intranox Oresteo system, which allows pumping over without pumps or hoses, managing the CO₂ generated in wine fermentation. Likewise, throughout the entire process, special attention is paid to the level of temperature and humidity: from the refrigerated chamber that preserves the hand-picked grapes in the ideal conditions after they enter the winery, to the rigorous control during the phases of vinification, aging and refining of the wines. And they also incorporate natural light to work.
It is an unprecedented green winery in Europe. The project incorporates different proposals to reduce pollution derived from the use of private vehicles. Among them, there are parking spaces for low-emission vehicles, charging points for electric vehicles and parking spaces for bicycles. The building also guarantees high air quality thanks to its constant renewal, and measures such as the use of adhesives and paints with a low content of volatile organic compounds.
The wine tourism visit incorporates its own food and wine proposal. They have the Celler 1923 wine bar, a project for which chef Paco Pérez has collaborated, where visitors can taste dishes inspired by the Empordà gastronomy of 1923, the year the winery was founded, which complement Perelada wines. A wide range of private, exclusive and personalized tastings is also offered, without the need to visit the winery, for clients who have already visited it or who simply want to focus on tasting Perelada wines. These tastings take place both in the Celler 1923 wine bar and in the multifunctional rooms Malaveïna and La Garriga.
The new winery also produces a very special wine that can only be purchased at the new store, at a price of 70 euros. It is a red wine with which they wanted to pay tribute to RCR Arquitectes. The oenologist Delfí Sanahuja affirms that "the philosophy was to make a wine thinking about the RCR architects and how they live, how they do their work and how they like wine". He chose a red Garnacha from the Espolla estate. Sanahuja says that "it is a wine with intensity, tasty, long and complex, which is how these architects from Olot like it." The RCR Selection is a 2019 red with aging potential that his winemaker says is “timeless”. In its first vintage, only 1,602 bottles have been produced.
