Domaine Riberach hosts seminars for up to 150 people in theatre layout, banquets for 130, cocktails for 200, and weddings or private parties with exclusive hire of the whole estate. The four-star eco-lodge has 18 bedrooms and four gîtes, and stands at 2a route de Caladroy in Bélesta, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, about 25 minutes from Perpignan.
Seminars and company events
The estate sells seminars and company events with a dedicated events team that follows each project from start to finish. The main meeting space is the Gros Gris room, 240 m², modular and full of daylight, which opens onto a covered terrace of 190 m² for breaks and outdoor meals. The Petit Gris room, 60 m², suits small working groups and looks over the vineyards. For informal meetings, the Comptoir-Cave seats up to 15 around a large table in the cellar.
Rooms are equipped with a video projector, a flipchart, a roll-down screen, power strips, a screen divider, tables and chairs, and a coffee machine with tableware.
Team-building options on site draw on the vineyard: guided walks through the vines, tasting workshops, wine initiation, a Wine Safari, a Wine Trek, a sunrise experience, a winegrower rally and barbecues among the vines. Yoga, pétanque and 4x4 outings are also offered, and partners nearby run climbing, rafting, horse riding, mountain biking and visits to the prehistory museum in the village château.
Weddings and receptions
For weddings, birthdays and baptisms, the team acts as a wedding planner, from decoration to entertainment. Full hire gives exclusive access to every space from 3 p.m. until noon the next day, so guests can sleep on site and meet again at brunch. Receptions use the Gros Gris room and its covered terrace, the Salle des Presses, the lounge terrace and the gardens.
Rooms and capacities
Gros Gris (240 m²) takes 50 in a U shape, 150 in theatre layout, 130 at a banquet and 200 at a cocktail. Petit Gris (60 m²) takes 20 in a U shape and 25 in theatre layout. The Salle des Presses (60 m²), a former winemaking room that also houses the gastronomic restaurant, seats 40 for a banquet and holds 100 at a cocktail. The lounge terrace (200 m²) seats 60 and holds 150 standing. The gardens (3,000 m²) take 110 in theatre layout for a ceremony and 150 at a cocktail.
Accommodation
The eco-lodge has 18 rooms, some built inside the old concrete wine vats and others above them, including junior suites and doubles with terraces. The four gîtes of La Maison du Château suit groups. The estate also has a spa set in five former vats and a natural pool filtered by plants. It holds the Clef Verte eco-label.
Catering
The estate runs three places to eat: La Coopérative, the gastronomic restaurant led by chef Dennys Teixeira, the Cargol'21 grill and the Comptoir-Cave wine bistro. Event menus are custom-made from seasonal, short-supply-chain produce reflecting Catalan cooking. Wines come from the estate's own organic vineyard.
History and setting
The cooperative cellar of Bélesta was built in 1925 and received the village harvest for about seventy years before closing in 1995. It stood empty for more than a decade until Luc Richard, a winemaker from Bélesta, and Karin Pühringer, a German-Austrian architect, turned it into a loft-style winery and hotel. The building sits below the village's medieval castle, among vineyards and Mediterranean scrubland in the Fenouillèdes.
Getting there
Ille-sur-Têt station is 10 minutes away and Perpignan station 30 minutes. Perpignan airport is 40 minutes away, Girona 1 hour 20 minutes and Barcelona 2 hours 30 minutes. Guests can also arrive by helicopter. Parking is free.
