Set among the landscapes of Friuli, the Maccan family inaugurates a new destination dedicated to wine, the local area and the pleasure of spending time together. Designed by architect Alessandro Isola, the project transforms the winery’s outdoor space into a place for connection, where the wines of Le Monde and La Ponca become more than products: they become a shared experience.
Prata di Pordenone (PN, Italy), 20 October 2026 – Wine Garden, the new project by the Maccan family, owners of Le Monde winery in Prata di Pordenone and La Ponca in the hills of Scrió, opens today. Born from the meeting of nature, architecture and wine culture, Wine Garden transforms the winery’s outdoor spaces into a welcoming place for discovery and conviviality.
Here, visitors can discover the wines of Le Monde and La Ponca alongside the traditional flavours of Friuli, sit around the table, meet, taste and get to know the two wineries more closely. Wine Garden will also host experiences, tastings and events designed to tell the story of wine through the land and the people who live and work there. Wine Garden was born in Friuli and draws its identity from the region: from its land and people, from relationships, and from the slow passage of time required to make good wine. It is a place that changes with the seasons and aims to tell the story of the area through authentic experiences and moments to share.
“For us, Wine Garden is first and foremost a place where people can feel at home. Here, we want to share our wines, our land and the pleasure of spending time together” say Alex Maccan and Marta Paladin Furlan.
The project was designed by architect Alessandro Isola, founder of the London-based multidisciplinary design studio that bears his name. “The idea behind this project was to transform the winery’s outdoor space into a place for connection, where wine is not just a product, but a shared experience” the architect explains.
A BALANCE BETWEEN GEOMETRY AND NATURE
The garden is arranged around two overlapping rectangular reflecting pools, creating a quiet balance between geometry and nature. Water becomes an element of stillness: it reflects the sky, enhances the light and accompanies visitors with its gentle sound. More than a decorative feature, it creates a sense of calm. The reflecting pool invites contemplation even before tasting begins, helping to shape a complete sensory experience. “I chose water as an element of balance. In a winery, wine is the result of a slow process shaped by time and transformation. Water works in much the same way: it is the memory of the landscape, its origin and its transformation” says Alessandro.
Around the water, islands of ornamental grasses embrace natural structures that emerge as carefully placed features, giving the space a measured rhythm. The decision, made together with the landscape designer, to use plants that are not evergreen introduces the theme of time: as the seasons pass, their shapes, colours and density change, making the garden a living landscape in constant transformation.
SHARING AND IMMERSION
A single long table runs through the space, forming its convivial heart. It is a place to meet and taste, but also an architectural gesture that extends into a walkway, connecting the different parts of the garden. More than a piece of furniture, it is a line that brings people together and creates connections, turning an individual experience into a collective moment. As a whole, the project creates a journey of reflections, passages and pauses: a series of metaphors for wine culture itself, which begins in the earth, unfolds over time and finds its most authentic meaning in sharing.
“In a winery, the relationship between nature and human intervention is central. The vineyard is the clearest example: the vine is part of nature, but the rows are shaped by people, orderly lines running through the landscape. I wanted to recreate this same tension in the garden. The pure geometry of the reflecting pools and the linear form of the table represent human intervention and control, while the grasses and shrubs express nature’s organic energy. It is the same dialogue found in wine: structure and spontaneity, technique and instinct.”
One distinctive feature of the project is a metal mesh that defines the spaces and marks the transition from the public realm of the street to the more intimate experience of wine, while retaining a sense of lightness and authenticity. “I didn’t want a wall or a clearly defined enclosure. The mesh is a threshold: it allows you to see and not see, offering protection without isolation. I reinterpreted it as a lightweight architectural element, turning it into a permeable screen. It is an invitation to enter, not a barrier” explains the architect. Beyond its symbolic value, the mesh filters light, creates shade and depth, while preserving visual permeability.
Beneath a simple, airy covered structure is the lounge area: an intimate yet open space designed for waiting, aperitifs and conversation. Inside, the retail and tasting area echoes the outdoor garden. Suspended greenery descends from the ceiling, continuing the vegetation outside, while a long wall made up of vertical bands creates an exhibition rhythm that abstractly recalls the quiet order of vineyard rows.
A NEW WAY TO EXPERIENCE WINE
With Wine Garden, the Maccan family strengthens its bond with the local area and opens a new chapter: alongside producing distinctive wines through Le Monde and La Ponca, it is creating an immersive space where the landscape becomes an integral part of the experience, expressing a deep connection with the land and its rhythms. Wine Garden also aims to give a voice to the excellence of Friuli, helping to preserve the region’s cultural authenticity. In a land shaped by its agricultural roots and built over time through the work and vision of generations who believed in the value of its produce, the project offers an opportunity to tell the story of Friulian identity and of a precious heritage of knowledge and traditions that must now be safeguarded responsibly and passed on to future generations.
The name Wine Garden itself expresses the desire to move beyond the traditional concept of a wine shop: not simply a place to buy wine, but an experiential garden that tells the story of its land through its colours, sounds and scents. A garden that changes with the seasons, just as wine evolves over time, bearing witness to work shaped by patience, care and respect.
“For us, the land is everything. Every day, we feel a responsibility to respect it and enhance its value. With Wine Garden, we wanted to evoke a space that brings the value of the landscape to the fore, with all its emotional and identity-defining aspects. It is our way of sharing the deep love we feel for this area with the community and our guests” says Marta Paladin Furlan.
Wine Garden is therefore the expression of a vision rooted in authenticity, passion and deep respect for nature: a place where nature is not a backdrop but the protagonist, and where the experience of wine becomes a living expression of a family identity deeply rooted in the land and looking towards the future.
