Winery and Hotel Marqués de Riscal

Author Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao returned to the scene after ten years to build a luxurious five-star hotel with a Michelin restaurant in the middle of vineyards, one hundred kilometers further south. The small town of Elciego, with a population of a thousand, is located in the famous wine region of La Rioja in northeastern Spain. All activities in the village revolve around wine, and one of the largest processors of grapes is the Marqués De Riscal winery, which has a tradition of over one hundred and fifty years. The client was inspired by the Guggenheim Museum model and commissioned the same architect to create a structure aimed at attracting tourists seeking quality wine and unconventional architecture.
Construction began in 1999 on a building designed to resemble a bird in flight, the billowing dress of a dancer, or wine gushing from a bottle, with Andy Liu as the lead architect, alongside Edwin Chan, who was responsible for the external appearance of the Guggenheim Museum. The luxurious hotel with the Marqués de Riscal restaurant was completed after seven years in June 2006. Its shiny metal ribbons float freely above the strict arrangement of vine rows, and the light steel structure contrasts with the medieval stone cathedral in the village on the opposite hill.
The main building, covering an area of 2800m², includes not only the luxurious restaurant and rooftop wine bar with panoramic views, but also fourteen hotel rooms, with prices around 600 euros per night. The new addition offers another 29 hotel rooms across an area of 3700m². However, the predominant part remains the wine cellars, where one of the best wines in the La Rioja region matures.