Moncalisse - Winery
The new Moncalisse Winery, designed by Alto Adige architect David Stuflesser alongside architect Nadia Moroder. Standing out with its luminous white form amidst the vineyards, the structure naturally blends into the landscape, echoing its sinuous lines. Born from a sensitive approach deeply committed to environmental sustainability, this project becomes the new departure point for an immersive experience in the Trentodoc Sparkling Wines terroir.
An architecture inspired by the fluid curves drawn by the estate's vineyards and nature itself, the architectural concept finds its genesis in the culture and identity of the place. Circular shapes are reflected in the rolling lines of the hill and the profiles of the dry-stone walls.
“We sought to transform the primordial element of architecture—the wall—into a landscape feature, making it float until it became a building,” explains architect David Stuflesser.
Indeed, the Moncalisse logo adopts this circular aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the architectural layout viewed from above. It traces a double symmetrical shape: representing the "M" of Moncalisse and, simultaneously, the interlocking, indissoluble bond between the two founders, sisters Julia and Karoline Walch.
Attention was dedicated to the choice of materials and colors, where white and red guide the project as a visual tribute to the local context. The reddish-brown concrete surfaces, featuring bush-hammered porphyry inserts, directly evoke the earth; meanwhile, the exterior envelope, finished in a raw white plaster, recalls the purity of abstract form and the stratified calcareous sedimentary rocks of the area, echoing the radiance of "white pearls “, the bubbles.
The journey between exterior and interior continues underground. Within the subterranean structure, the lines of the walls play with contrasts between light and shadow, granting the volume, depth, and a theatrical atmosphere. The barrique cellar, with its majestic height of 11 meters, evokes an almost mystical solemnity, akin to a secular cathedral where formal beauty marries technical functionality.
The architecture unfolds through a dialogue between two worlds: the hidden, silent realm of the underground structure, where production processes take place, and the visible, open realm of the emerging section, designed to welcome guests and express the Moncalisse identity.
The choice to place most of the building’s volume underground allows it to harness the natural temperature of the earth (around 13°C), ensuring the constant thermal conditions required for the long aging periods of the Metodo Classico. In this hidden space, the processing of grapes also respects the architecture: vinification is carried out entirely by gravity, a principle that protects the raw material with extreme gentleness to guarantee the highest quality standards.
From the depths of the earth, the experience then ascends to the surface, opening onto a splendid south-facing panoramic terrace: an invitation to pause and contemplate the vine-covered landscape.
