What is it?
Surrounded by vineyards, a cellar and the medieval town Elciego (La Rioja, Spain), we find Hotel Marqués de Riscal, A luxury Collection Hotel by Marriot designed by Frank Gehry into The city of Wine. The building shows shapes inspired by nature and mixes titanium, steel and stone of different colors to get built into the landscape. Gastronomy meets architecture and vine-growing in four restaurants located at the complex. Leaded by Francis Paniego, Restaurante gastronómico has been awarded with a Michelin star and has a fine dining oriented menu, 1860 Tradición offers Basque and La Rioja tradicional food, for meat lovers, Asador Torrea is a grill in the outdoors and Vinoteca & Bistro is the hotel wine bar. To complete the experience the cosmetics firm Caudalie use the natural properties of grapes and wine in treatments offered in Spa Vinothérapie.
Why it’s Cool?
- The wines and grapes from La Rioja are based on a good product. They developed the concept to the limit by putting together wine, architecture, gastronomy, nature, history and luxury, creating a theme park with a big advantage, it doesn’t seem like atrezzo because you are in the real place.
- The whole complex, with the medieval town and the 21st century hotel representing the passing of the time, vineyards representing nature and cellar representing knowledge, is a good metaphor of wine making.
Why it has future growth potential?
Around the world there are millions of people that love wine, most of them dream about visiting a chateau and live their passion from the origin. In The city of Wine they have the opportunity to enjoy it surrounded by a work of Frank Gehry, one of the most renowned architects. Beside that, many people see in the country side a good choice to avoid touristic places that used to be overcrowded, and it brings them to the nature the urban opulence of modern buildings. Luxury, well developed, is always attractive, but sometimes it is only a shell, in the City of Wine the concept go further tell us the story of the place and we understand why it is here instead of wherever else.
