Urban Vineyards

Let’s imagine a vineyad up on the roof of a skyscraper of the Big Apple or rows of vines in the roads of Paris,  or vine plants in the middle of a silent monastery of Venice or in the heart of Milano.  They may seem unlikely, but in the world this kind of landscapes really exist, within many towns, sometimes very close to the town middle, and they invite tourists on different paths, but suggestive, so that they can at the same time enjoy the beauty and the culture of a place in an unexpected way.

It was the international association  Urban Vineyards Association  whose acronym is curiously U.V.A. (the Italian word for grape) to join together all city vineyards, and the target is to preserve the rural,historical and landscape heritage of metropolitan vineyards;  at the same time it is intended to protect their precious biodiversity respecting the environment, putting together past and future, countryside and city, work and leisure time.

The binding conditions required to join the association want the vineyard to be included into a urban context, accessible to visitors, tightly connected to the culture and the history of the town and it must be perceived by population as a place with a high historical and cultural value as well.
At present there are 13 vineyards associated to U.V.A., located in many nations of Europe and United States, as stated on the association internet site.

Urban rows of vines : Siena and Milano

Miraculously survived up to nowadays, inspite the abandonment and the inexorable advance of buildings, some city vine rows are now back to be  known and enjoyed by citizens.   
An example is the project Senarum Vinea, a kind of spread vineyard in Siena which is dedicated not only to rediscover old vineyards located within city walls, but also to acnowledge and valorize ancient native vines.  In ancient monastery orchards, private gardens and family fields in the next periphery are hidden grapes like gorgottesco, tenerone, salamanna, rossone and many others minor native grapes that survived up today, but forgotten and at high risk of extinction.

Another vineyard recovered and given back to citizens is the famous  Vigna di Leonardo in Milano, that belonged to the great tuscan genius.  It was rediscovered in 1922 and destroyed in World War II, and after many years of studies and thanks to the collaboration of Prof. Attilio Scienza it was confirmed that Leonardo cultivated there the perfumed aromatic Malvasia of Candia. 

Venezia and Bergamo

Venezia as well has always been keeping – among the limitless natural, artistic and architectural beauties – small surfaces of land dedicated to wine production, often within convents and monasteries. It happens that into the monastery of  San Francesco della Vigna, nomen omen, (St. Francis of Vineyard) is the most ancient urban vineyard of the town, once one of the wider and most productive of all Venezia. Here they assemble glera and malvasia to have the spumante with  Martinotti method “Harmonia Mundi”. Another U.V.A. member in Venezia is  Laguna nel bicchiere, an association whose aim is to recover and join together all abandoned vineyards spread on the many little islands of Venezia, preserving the original landscape which is often unknown to most of the citizens.

Still in north of Italy, in Bergamo,  Cascina Moroni   owns vineyards extended from the town edge on one side, up into the surrounding woods on the other, in a contemporary dimension where land side and urban territory live together in armony. The project includes a walking and cycling path that crosses vineyards and the suggestive chestnuts fields.

Palermo and Catania

The Vigna del Gallo  of Orto Botanico in Palermo is more recent, when in 2018 was started a project aimed to preserve 95 native Sicilian grapes, samples of identity and biodiversity of the island.  It is a real open air museum where, near traditional Sicilian grapes, are “relic” grapes like  prunella, muscaredda, corinto bianco, cutrera, zuccaratu, visparola.

Still in Sicily, near Catania, the young  Etna Urban Winery is an U.V.A. member. Started at the end of 1700, it was recently recovered by 8 members of the same family and turned into a place for wine tourism with the restoration of the old palmento (historical cellar), a domed building defined as “Cuba” etnea, with dry stone walls and hand sculpted stone seats.

Avignone, Paris and Lyone

Three urban french vineyards are Urban Vineyards Association members too, and one of them is outstanding for historical tradition : the Clos du Palais des Papes, the only intra moenia AOC vineyard in France, declared World Heritage by UNESCO. Owned by the town of Avignone, the vineyards are now under responsibility of Compagnons des Côtes du Rhône,  who guarantee the care of the vineyard all year long.

Another famous urban vineyard is  Clos Montmartre in Paris, planted in 1933 and managed by the area citizens.  It is remarkable the charity activity of selling in auctions the wine and the proceeds donated to Montmartre Association for social aims.

The third French urban vineyard is  Clos des Canuts, located on Lyone hills and dedicated to 300 Gamay plants.  Lucky tourists could be involved in harvest works and invited to join the following celebrations. 

Salonicco, Barcellona and New York

Greece as well, in Salonicco, in 2013 created a two acres area for the first  Urban Organic Vineyard , thanks to a contribution of local University. Here, plants of  malagouzia, golden robola, xinomavro e agiorgitiko took the place of what was previously the Municipal mechanical workshop.

In Spain,  Barcellona, the Oliveira farm recovered the  Can Calopa de Dalt vineyard, the last trace of wine culture in the Catalan town. Beside producing wine, the farm promotes a no-profit project  in favour of people at risk of social exclusion.

On top of New York skyscrapers there is someone who created a little orchard, but there is someone who is producing wine as well.  Like the  Rooftop Reds farm, that, like its name recalls, is located on the roof of the Brooklyn Navy Yard building, with panoramic view on lower Manhattan. In about 40 pots covering a surface of about 1375 sq.mts., Rooftop Reds produces between 200 and 250 bottles of wine of the main Bordeaux red grapes varieties.

In short, the vineyard is everywhere, you just need to look for it.