SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD
The Urban Vineyards Association (U.V.A.) was founded with the aim of protecting the rural, historical, and landscape heritage represented by urban vineyards and enhancing it from a cultural and touristic perspective, making it productive for the community and for the future, in harmony with the environment, through viticultural and social policies of integration and sustainability.
A vineyard is not only a sweet rolling hillside. A vineyard can also be urban: unexpected greenery in the concrete jungle, a green space of tradition and soil, transforming the city’s borders into horizons within the city. These are urban vineyards, unique cultivations within metropolitan areas. An agricultural, historical, and cultural heritage of immense value, the vines cultivated within cities are often true treasures of biodiversity: ancient varieties, in some cases extremely rare specimens and biotypes in a region’s ampelographic landscape, have been propagated over centuries without ever being replaced by more productive or market-favored ones, as has happened in commercial vineyards. Hence the birth of an association that brings them together into an international network, promoting historical restoration projects and actions for cultural, landscape, and touristic enhancement.
Tradition of the land within the futurism of the city. The silent beauty of urban grapes watching over, unnoticed.
Grapes for the taste of grapes, and grapes for the taste of the city.
Urban grapes also emerge as a tool for eco-management, contributing to urban sustainability by bringing a rich cultural and natural heritage. Doing more with less.
A simple but meaningful contribution to the city, like wine to the table.
VINEYARDS
NEWS & EVENTs
Urban Vineyards Association participated in “Urban Vines: Silent Clusters of History, Nature, and Culture” in Bari
On Friday, January 23, 2026, the Nicolaus Hotel in Bari hosted one of the most significant national events dedicated to the relationship between viticulture, urban environments, and landscape: “Urban Vines. Silent Clusters of History, Nature, and Culture.” Promoted by...
Campus Grapes, an Innovative Urban Vineyard, Joins the Urban Vineyards Association
December 2025, the Urban Vineyards Association welcomes its newest member, Campus Grapes. The Urban Vineyards Association is pleased to announce the addition of Campus Grapes as a new member of the Association. Located within the main campus of the Politecnico di...
Urban Vineyards Association participated in “Urban Vines: Silent Clusters of History, Nature, and Culture” in Bari
On Friday, January 23, 2026, the Nicolaus Hotel in Bari hosted one of the most significant national events dedicated to the relationship between viticulture, urban environments, and landscape: “Urban Vines. Silent Clusters of History, Nature, and Culture.”
Promoted by AIS Bari Sommeliers, the event represented an important cultural contribution to the contemporary debate on the protection of urban agricultural heritage and the enhancement of historic vineyards integrated into city contexts. These vineyards stand as living expressions of biodiversity, collective memory, and local identity.
Urban Vineyards Association was honored to contribute to this important occasion through the participation of our President, Nicola Purrello, who opened the discussion and shared our vision and ongoing commitment to the study and protection of urban vineyards at an international level.
The dialogue was enriched by the contributions of Prof. Nicola Martinelli, Full Professor of Urban Planning at the Politecnico di Bari, and Prof. Giuseppe Ferrara, Associate Professor of General Arboriculture and Tree Cultivation at the University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, who offered scientific and territorial perspectives on the phenomenon of urban viticulture.
The educational and professional dimension of viticulture was represented by Dr. Angelinda Griseta, Head of the Basile Caramia Institute in Locorotondo, Prof. Ignazio Zara, teacher and winemaker at the same institution, and Domenico Bufano, owner of Sirose Agricultural Company, which manages the terraced vineyard of Locorotondo.
The national relevance of the initiative was further strengthened by the participation of key representatives of the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS): Giuseppe Baldassarre, Giacomo D’Ambruoso, Sandro Camilli, and Camillo Privitera. The discussion was moderated by AIS speaker Agnese Di Noia.
A central moment of the evening was the guided tasting of wines from urban vineyards across Italy and Europe, offering a concrete expression of the extraordinary coexistence between city and viticulture. The wines presented were:
🍇 Valmarina Solaris Piwi 100% and Valmarina Bianco Colli Aperti from Cascina Moroni, Lombardy
🍇 Balat Rosato 2024 from Etna Urban Winery, Sicily
🍇 Aleatico from Istituto Basile Caramia, Puglia
🍇 Vigna Villa della Regina from Cantine Balbiano, Piedmont
🍇 Harmonia Mundi 2022 from Herita Marzotto Wine Estates, Veneto
🍇 Bi.te.le and Gloria from Cantina Nusserhof, South Tyrol
🍇 Fields of Gold 2021 from Eichhorn Winery, Austria
🍇 Vinyes de Barcelona 2022 from Can Calopa de Dalt, Spain
The tasting was accompanied by a culinary creation by resident chef Tommaso Giacovelli, designed to enhance the wines and complete the sensory experience.
For Urban Vineyards Association, events such as this confirm the growing attention toward urban vineyards and strengthen our commitment to their recognition, protection, and international network.
Campus Grapes, an Innovative Urban Vineyard, Joins the Urban Vineyards Association
December 2025, the Urban Vineyards Association welcomes its newest member, Campus Grapes.
The Urban Vineyards Association is pleased to announce the addition of Campus Grapes as a new member of the Association. Located within the main campus of the Politecnico di Torino, this pioneering urban vineyard represents the first large-scale application of the Citiculture model. By combining agricultural tradition with advanced technology, Campus Grapes introduces a modular vineyard system, the exclusive use of PIWI grape varieties, and smart monitoring tools that support research, education, and sustainable urban development. The project strengthens the Association’s commitment to promoting innovative and resilient models of urban viticulture at an international level.
The inclusion of Campus Grapes is particularly meaningful, as the project was conceived and developed by the Association’s Honorary President and Founder, Luca Balbiano. Designed as an open-air laboratory, Campus Grapes connects academic research, agritech innovation, and social impact, offering a concrete example of how urban vineyards can function as productive green infrastructure. With this new member, the Association continues to expand its network while reinforcing its role as a platform for knowledge exchange, experimentation, and the advancement of sustainable urban vineyards worldwide.