Maccan family opens Wine Garden at Le Monde winery in Friuli

The Maccan family opened a new wine and hospitality space on Tuesday at the Le Monde winery in Prata di Pordenone, in Italy’s Friuli region, expanding its public-facing operations beyond wine production with a site built for tastings, events, and visits tied to two family wine labels, Le Monde and La Ponca.

The project, called Wine Garden, was announced as a new destination where visitors can taste wines from both wineries, try local food, and spend time in an outdoor setting designed to connect wine, landscape, and architecture. The family said the opening marks a new phase for its business, which already operates Le Monde in Prata di Pordenone and La Ponca in the hills of Scrió.

According to the company, the space is intended to move beyond the traditional format of a wine shop by creating a place where wine is presented as part of a broader experience tied to the Friuli area, its agricultural identity, and social gatherings. The site will host tastings, events, and other activities aimed at introducing visitors to the wines and the territory where they are made.

Alex Maccan and Marta Paladin Furlan said in the announcement that they wanted the site to feel welcoming and informal, with an emphasis on sharing wine and time together. The family described the project as an effort to strengthen its link with the local area while opening the winery grounds to more regular public use.

Wine Garden was designed by architect Alessandro Isola, founder of a London-based multidisciplinary studio. In the materials released for the opening, Isola said the goal was to turn the winery’s outdoor area into a place centered on connection rather than a simple commercial display. He said the design was built around the idea that wine should be experienced collectively and in relation to its surroundings.

The layout centers on two overlapping rectangular reflecting pools, which structure the garden and create a strong geometric element within the landscape. The architect said water was chosen as a balancing feature and as a way to introduce stillness and reflection into the visit before a tasting begins. The company said the pools are meant to reflect the sky, shape the light in the space, and add a quiet sound element to the experience.

Around the water, the garden uses ornamental grasses and other plantings selected with seasonal change in mind. The design avoids a fixed, evergreen look and instead allows the space to shift in color, density, and form over the course of the year. The project team said that choice was made to emphasize time and transformation, themes the winery links closely to wine production.

A long shared table runs through the site and serves as one of its main visual and social features. According to the release, the table is intended to function both as a place for tastings and meetings and as a pathway that links different parts of the garden. The family and architect described it as the central element for convivial use, turning an individual visit into a group experience.

The architect also framed the overall design as a dialogue between natural growth and human order, an idea he tied to vineyard cultivation itself. In his description, the linear table and reflecting pools represent structure and control, while grasses and shrubs bring a less controlled, more organic presence. He said that tension mirrors the relationship in winemaking between technique and instinct.

One of the more distinctive architectural elements is a metal mesh screen that defines the site’s edges and separates it from the street without fully closing it off. Isola said he wanted to avoid a solid wall and instead create a threshold that protects the interior while remaining visually open. The mesh is intended to filter light, provide shade, and mark the change from public space to a more intimate setting connected to wine tasting.

The project also includes a covered lounge area designed for waiting, aperitifs, and conversation. Inside, the retail and tasting room continues some of the same visual themes seen outdoors. The company said suspended greenery hangs from the ceiling, while a long wall made of vertical elements recalls the repeated lines of vineyard rows.

The opening reflects a broader trend in wine regions across Europe, where producers are investing more heavily in hospitality, design, and direct visitor experiences as part of their business model. In this case, the Maccan family is presenting Wine Garden not only as a commercial destination but also as a cultural one, with a stated focus on expressing Friulian identity through food, wine, and landscape.

The family said the project is also meant to highlight what it sees as the excellence of the Friuli region and to help preserve its cultural authenticity. In the release, Marta Paladin Furlan said the landscape is central to the family’s work and that the new site was created to bring that value into the foreground for both local residents and guests.

Le Monde and La Ponca remain the core wine brands behind the initiative. By bringing both together in one physical destination, the family appears to be creating a single setting where visitors can encounter the different identities of the two wineries while also being introduced to the broader territory that shapes them. The opening materials suggest that future programming at Wine Garden will focus on guided tastings and events built around that theme of place.

The new space opened Tuesday in Prata di Pordenone, a town in the former province of Pordenone in northeastern Italy, where Le Monde is based. La Ponca, the family’s other winery, is located in the hilly area of Scrió. The family said Wine Garden will operate as a place where those two wine stories meet in one environment designed for public use, with architecture and landscape intended to play as large a role in the visit as the wines themselves.