The Urban Vineyards Association (UVA) was born with the aim of protecting the rural, historical and natural heritage represented by urban vineyards and enhancing it from a cultural and tourist point of view, making it productive for the community and for the future while respecting the environment.
Through wine, and social policies of integration and sustainability.
A Vineyard is not just a gentle hilly landscape. Vineyard can also mean city-life: the unexpected green in the concrete jungle; the colors of tradition and earth, which transforms the boundaries of the city into a new horizon.
These are urban vineyards, unique crops within a metropolitan area. An agricultural, historical and cultural heritage of enormous value, the vines grown within the cities are often real treasures of biodiversity: the most ancient varieties, in some cases very rare biotypes in the ampelographic panorama of a region, have been propagated through the ages, surviving other, more productive or profitable types.
That is why an association was born to bring the Urban Vineyards together in an international network, which can promote historical recovery projects and cultural, landscape and tourist enhancement actions.
The tradition of the earth suddenly emerging from the futurism of the city.
Grapes for the sake of grapes. And grapes for the sake of the city, in fact metropolitan vineyards also reveal to be an eco-management tool, which contributes to urban sustainability.
Do more with less. A simple but significant contribution to the city, like wine is for the table.
Our Team
Nicola Purrello - President
Our story begins in 1790 with the foundation in San Gregorio di Catania of a vineyard ith cellar, by one of our ancestors. After more than 200 years, 8 cousins decide to resume our family tradition, replanting rooted cuttings of Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Carricante. Our district, historically one of the most rich in vineyards on on Etna’s slopes, has in the meantime been reached and surrounded by the growing city of Catania, and nevertheless it preserved a rich historical and anthropological heritage, highly representative of historical viticulture on Etna.
Thus was born Etna Urban Winery.
Eric Sureau - Vice President
“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.”
Renzo De Antonia - Board Member
“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 Voutsikaki - Board Member
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.
Pau Moragas - Board Member
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.
Luca Balbiano - Honorary President
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.
David Bérard
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.
Paolo Corbini
“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.”
Umberto Bonifacino
The agronomist Umberto Bonifacino oversees the Vigna della Regina project in Turin, an urban vineyard that celebrates the city’s wine and landscape heritage, offering unique cultural and educational experiences in an urban setting.
Alessandro Cotroneo
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.
Alessandro Marzotto
“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
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.
Gérard Truchet
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.
Maria Teresa Buttigliengo
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.
Piero Moroni
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
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.
Emma Lundie
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
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.
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