Sustainable Beauty
will save the World

Nicola is the Director and Co-Founder of Etna Urban Winery, the first commercial-scale urban vineyard in Southern Italy. His journey into the world of wine began as part of a family effort to revive the historic family winery, which had been abandoned and is now
thriving in the suburbs of Catania, Sicily’s largest metropolitan area. In addition to his role at Etna Urban Winery, Nicola serves as Vice President of the Etna Wine Route and brings extensive experience as a management consultant, a profession he pursued in Europe, North Africa and Middle East full-time before transitioning into winemaking.

Nicola holds an MSc in Finance from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from INSEAD in Singapore.

“Clos Montmartre is a miracle: the vineyard is a very small piece of land squeezed between the buildings, under the wing of the church of the Sacred Heart, yet it produces about a thousand half-liter bottles of rosé. But above all it attracts thousands of people for the harvest festival. Having vineyards in the city and creating shared synergies is essential to resist and activate a winning commercial strategy, both from a cultural and social point of view: all the proceeds of Clos Montmartre, for example, are used to carry out social actions in the 18th arrondissement.”

“The goal of Laguna nel bicchiere (Lagoon in a glass) is to recover old traditions, save pieces of land, but above to cooperate with schools, to make it clear that a city like Venice is not only a matter of stones, but there are also agricultural important agricultural productions.”

Olga is an expert in urban agriculture and food policies through her collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki in the Food Trails Horizon 2020 project. Within the context of the Urban Vineyards Association, Olga acts as a representative of the extraordinary urban vineyard initiative of Thessaloniki, an urban cultivation that has radically transformed the life of the local community.

Her passion for the environment and design has led her to specialize in outdoor architecture and agricultural landscape design, convinced that intelligent and sustainable design is the starting point for every good project.

Agricultural engineer and oenologist, having studied at various universities in Catalonia (Polytechnic University of Catalonia, University of Lleida), Portugal (ISA Lisbon), and France (Montpellier SupAgro). Since 1996, he has been a worker-member of L'Olivera, a cooperative social inclusion project that produces high added value wines and oils in a rural environment (Vall del Corb, Lleida) and peri-urban (Masia Can Calopa). He is currently the production manager and vice-president.

His professional career has developed within L'Olivera, where he has participated in different work areas as well as numerous projects and trips in Europe. From L'Olivera, he coordinates the viticulture area of the Costers del Segre Denomination of Origin and participates on the board of directors of ADV Ecológica Terres de Ponent, the network of olive growers and oil producers of Catalonia (XOOC), and the Associació Vall del Corb for local development. He lives with his family in the small town of Vallbona de les Monges.

The vineyard of Villa della Regina is a story of love and beauty. The Queen’s Vineyard is in fact a little miracle, not only for the astonishing beauty it offers, but also because the vineyards, although so young, produce remarkable wines. When we accepted this challenge almost 15 years ago, we never imagined we could go this far.\ My family has been producing Freisa di Chieri for over 75 years, but this is a particulary special wine, born from a historic, long time lost vineyard. We agreed to replant it in order to return its grapes and wine to Turin.

The Association Compagnons des Côtes du Rhône brings together about fifty passionate volunteers who are committed to supporting the promotion of wines from the Côtes du Rhône and its capital Avignon, through cultural, environmental and historical heritage. To achieve this goal, the Compagnons des Côtes du Rhône are creators of popular, festive and media driven events based on the values ​of sharing, conviviality and cultural exchange.

“Our recovery model can be replicated in any city where there are wine productions and ancient vines to be rediscovered. Italy is very rich in this heritage and today it represents a new added value for our oenology.”

A forgotten story links Leonardo da Vinci to the city of Milan: the story of a vineyard. The vineyard that Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, gave to Leonardo in 1498, and which is finally reborn today, respecting the original grape variety.

“The Santa Margherita company has decided to devote itself with passion to the protection of the oldest vineyard in Venice, putting its technical competence at the service of the friars who have kept it for centuries.”

Alessio Planeta, CEO and Technical Director of Planeta Agricultural Enterprises, is a prominent figure in the Italian wine industry. Born in Menfi (AG), on October 18, 2023, Planeta was awarded the prestigious title of "Winemaker of the Year" at the twenty-fourth edition of the “Wine Star Award”, bringing Italy to the top of the ranking after sixteen years. In addition to his role in the family business, Alessio Planeta is now Vice President of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Doc Sicilia, which manages the Vigna del Gallo in the Orto Botanico of Palermo. His dedication and commitment have significantly contributed to the recognition and promotion of Sicilian wines on an international level.

La République defends the traditions of Lyon and in particular of Croix-Rousse, a plateau that hosts our vineyards in the Parc de la Cerisaie. The annual festival of La République, with its parade and the gathering that are held on this occasion, have become a real tradition of Croix-Rousse and the whole territory.

Mariateresa Buttigliengo, an established professional with senior roles in prestigious companies, is also passionate about art and culture. This passion led her to Villa della Regina, where she was invited in 2015 to participate in a fundraising initiative for the restoration of the North Belvedere. Struck by the charm of the place, she became a member of the Friends of Villa della Regina Association and is now its President. Convinced that nothing happens by chance, Mariateresa continues to work to preserve and promote the ancient splendor of this UNESCO heritage site.

At the beginning of the 1800s, brothers Alessandro and Pietro Moroni commissioned the architect Giacomo Bianconi, a student of Piermarini, to transform the ancient building of Villa Moroni into a neoclassical palace, in line with the fashion of the time. Bianconi chose the Royal Palace of Monza as his model, giving the existing structure its current neoclassical appearance and architecturally integrating all the rustic buildings of the agricultural estate.

Maria Fittipaldi Menarini leads the Donne Fittipaldi winery, which manages the Vigna di Michelangelo, Florence’s first urban vineyard. Located in a unique setting near Piazzale Michelangelo, the vineyard cultivates ancient Tuscan grape varieties, blending tradition and innovation to enhance local biodiversity.

Social entrepreneur, Emma Lundie has been the Head of Operations at Forty Hall Vineyard since 2019.  She oversees and coordinates the management of London’s only commercial- scale vineyard, connecting this work with her other projects, promoting sustainability and accessibility to seasonal, locally produced food within the London Borough of Enfield.  She hosts community events, most of which are held on Forty Hall Farm, the home of Forty Hall Vineyard, bringing people together to enjoy good food and wine in a unique London setting.

Ken York, founder of Hollywood Classic Wine, established a boutique vineyard in the Hollywood Hills in 2001. Near the iconic Hollywood Sign, it produces limited, sought-after wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, grown sustainably on steep slopes with a distinct Los Angeles character.

Carlos Lopez is an Associate Professor at ISA (Istitudo Superior de Agricoltura) of Lisbon’s University, that is charge of keeping Tapada de Ajuda vineyards for teaching and training purposes.

Marcos Ritter de Gregorio has a degree in architecture with a master’s degree in civil construction technology, having worked as a designer and builder for 20 years and college professor for 12 years. Since 2020, he has been in charge of Vinhedo Lacustre, the first urban vineyard in Brazil, following the dream of his father who started planting 10 years earlier. Today, Vinhedo Lacustre is a reference in wine tourism in the Brazilian capital.

Miriam is a painter and Ron is a filmmaker, both of us were not born into Winemaking. We bought our vineyard a few years ago and immediately loved the work with the vines, the land and the cellar. We decided to make our wines as natural as possible, with minimal intervention in all stages. From the pruning in winter and thinning of the first shoots in spring to the bottling in summer and the harvest in autumn, and of course all the cellar work that follows. Simplicity and sophistication are both important to us.

While we want to keep everything as straightforward as possible, our wines reflect the complexity of our particular terroir and the way we mature them. We want to make wines with a unique character. If they were actors, we imagine they would be like Sophia Loren or Philippe Noiret. Anything else but average or boring.

Geoff is a former patent attorney, now retired, with a lifelong interest in wine, especially cabernet. This interest translated into a desire to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon made from 100% Cabernet grapes, without blended varieties, hand-picked from a single vineyard.