In Sabrosa, at the center of the Douro Valley, the new Borges Winery rises as a built reflection of wine’s fundamental elements: time, earth, and transformation. Conceived by Em Paralelo, the project positions itself as an architectural response to landscape and process. It gives physical form to the cycle in which grapes become wine and wine becomes legacy, grounding production in a spatial language shaped by terrain and material.
INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE
The intervention consolidates two previously separate plots into a single, coherent structure capable of accommodating the full production cycle of Vinhos Borges, one of the Douro’s oldest wine houses. The complex spans approximately 4,000 square meters at ground level, with an additional 1,000-square-meter basement and a 328-square-meter mezzanine. This reorganization does more than optimize operational flow; it establishes a unified architectural identity that resonates with the valley’s topography.
The building’s placement follows the natural north-to-south slope of the land. Anchored along a central axis, the structure negotiates its position between soil and horizon. To the north, it settles into the terrain, partially embedded and protected by the ground. To the south, it lifts subtly, allowing natural ventilation to circulate beneath and granting the volume a lighter visual presence. This calibrated positioning ensures that the winery reads as an extension of the landscape rather than an imposition upon it.
Materiality defines the project’s architectural language. Local schist stone wraps key portions of the façade, visually binding the building to the Douro’s terraced hills. Metal panels in tones inspired by wine introduce depth and warmth, echoing the chromatic spectrum of the vineyards and the region’s shifting light. Expansive glass surfaces open the main façade toward the valley, turning production into a framed panorama. Reflections and transparency create a dialogue between interior and exterior, where the operational core remains connected to the surrounding land.
Inside, spatial organization follows the logic of winemaking. The central hall houses large stainless-steel vats arranged with precision, encircled by maintenance walkways that reveal both the technical rigor and the monumental scale of fermentation. This core acts as the structural and symbolic heart of the building. Administrative and social areas occupy the mezzanine and peripheral zones, designed with the same clarity and restraint that define the production spaces. Subtle variations in floor levels allow interior ceiling heights to exceed seven meters, accommodating the demands of the fermentation process while maintaining a disciplined exterior profile.
The roofline remains uniform, reinforcing the sobriety of the volume. Outside, small green intervals between built segments break down the façade’s mass and establish a rhythm aligned with the terrain. These landscaped gaps soften the transition between architecture and vineyard, integrating the winery into its context with measured precision.
Borges Winery presents itself as a structure shaped by time and matter. Schist, steel, glass, and wine converge within a form that respects the slope, climate, and cultural memory of the Douro. The building functions as infrastructure, yet it also articulates a clear architectural stance: production and landscape belong to the same continuum. In Sabrosa, architecture follows the vineyard’s cadence, translating earth into space and process into permanence.
