Protos Winery

This temple of wine occupies an area of 20,000 square meters, thanks to which 3.5 million bottles and 5,000 barrels can be stored. The new Protos facilities consist of a winery and a social and administrative headquarters. Designed by the architectural firm Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, it is located in Peñafiel and was inaugurated in 2009. The particular design, which highlights a roof composed of five vaulted bays that simulate barrels emerging from the earth, made this building a finalist in the 2009 Stirling Prize.

The building, responding to the critical spatial and environmental conditions that are optimal for winemaking, is representative of the brand and blends in with its surroundings, while presenting solutions that minimize the energy consumption necessary to maintain these conditions. Energy savings are not only important, but consubstantial to the design.

The new building is connected to the old cellars (located in a series of long corridors under the mountain of the historic and brilliantly restored Peñafiel Castle, to be converted into a Wine Museum) through a tunnel built under the separating road.