World of Wine

Client
The Fladgate Partnership

Location
Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto

Sector
Cultural Institutions & Museums

Hospitality & Guest Experience

World of Wine is a major cultural destination in Porto overlooking the picturesque Douro River. The site houses three museums, a range of restaurants and shops, and public spaces across fifteen acres. It’s a place to be explored slowly, a place to be discovered across multiple visits. Paths cross, views open and close, and its treasures reveal themselves over time.

The project was developed by The Fladgate Partnership as a long-term cultural destination showcasing Portuguese industry, tradition and culture. Wine, of course, sits at the center, but the ambition reaches wider, touching on material craft, regional history, and the everyday stories that have shaped Porto and its surroundings.

Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, was engaged to develop the structure and character of three museum experiences within the wider district. The focus was on making complex subjects feel approachable through space, pacing, and physical storytelling. Design decisions were guided by how people move, pause, and engage, rather than by prescribed routes or dense explanation. Alongside the design work, our team also fabricated and installed many of the exhibits that make these experiences so tactile and immersive.

“I was quick to realise WOW was not just an acronym, it is what you’ll find yourself thinking throughout your visit.”

– The National

A destination built to explore

Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, led the masterplanning, concept, and schematic design for three of the museums, shaping how visitors move through each experience and how information is revealed over time. Moments of immersion sit alongside quieter spaces for reflection, allowing visitors to absorb content without feeling overwhelmed.

Three museums, three perspectives

World of Wine

This museum explores how wine is made, from vineyard to bottle. Visitors move through environments that shift in scale and atmosphere, encountering displays that explain growing conditions, grape varieties, fermentation, and aging. The experience balances sensory moments with clear, accessible explanations, allowing visitors to engage as deeply as they choose.

Planet Cork

Planet Cork focuses on one of Portugal’s most important natural resources. The museum traces the journey of cork from forest to finished product, highlighting its traditional role as well as some more unexpected applications. Exhibits combine physical artifacts with immersive environments, helping visitors understand the material’s properties and its cultural and economic significance.

Porto Region Across the Ages (PRATA)

PRATA tells the story of Porto through a series of themed rooms that chart the city’s development over time. Our team fabricated a range of environments that reference trade, transport, and daily life, with large-scale scenic elements and projected immersive content employed to create an evocative experience for visitors.

Tactile, integrated exhibit design

We fabricated and assembled many of the exhibits as part of the project’s broad scope. Elements were produced off-site, shipped to Porto, and installed within the completed buildings, allowing materials, finishes, and interactions to be carefully controlled. Displays feel integrated into the architecture, with storytelling elements designed to sit naturally within each space.

Impact

A cultural landmark for Porto

Since opening in 2020, World of Wine has received international recognition and multiple awards, establishing itself as a key cultural destination in Portugal. The project reflects a long-term investment in place-making, bringing together education, hospitality, and leisure in a way that feels rooted in local tradition while remaining open and contemporary.

For us, the project demonstrates how complex subject matter can be communicated through space, tactile installations, and considered pacing – never relying on dense explanation. It is work that rewards time and attention, encouraging repeat visits.