Can Calopa is the first and only winery in Spain fo form part of the UVA
The wine of Barcelona is gaining followers. L’Olivera has gone a step further to consolidate the project that it has been promoting in the Collserola Natural Park since 2010 and adheres to the Urban Vineyards Association (UVA). This mission of this body, founded in Italy, is to protect the rural, historical and natural heritage preserved by different urban wineries from different parts of the world. And this January, the UVA has accepted the incorporation of L’Olivera – Masia de Can Calopa as a new member and there are now 13 wineries that make up the association, located in cities as diverse as Turin, Venice, Siena, New York, Palermo, Thessaloniki or Lyon.
In September 2022, and within the framework of Slow Food’s Salone del Gusto in Turin, L’Olivera presented the project it is promoting at the Can Calopa municipal estate at a round table on urban vineyards, alongside the English writer Carolyn Steele and, in addition, offered a tasting of Vinyes de Barcelona wine to the audience. Since then, L’Olivera has participated and disseminated the project at different events before the specialised Italian press as well as before various European wine tourism professionals.
By joining the UVA, L’Olivera intends to publicise its peri-urban agriculture project internationally and, at the same time, underline the importance of wine culture in the construction of Barcelona’s identity. Through its association with the organisation, L’Olivera will participate in joint promotional and commercial actions with the aim of publicising the different wineries, their uniqueness, their wines and the joint commitment to sustainable wine tourism and the preservation of the natural and rural heritage in the future of the metropolitan conurbations of the 21st century.
For the president of the Urban Vineyards Association, Luca Balbino, the incorporation of the city of Barcelona into the association represents great added value. “In addition to the great importance of the city from a cultural and artistic point of view, the reality of Can Calopa is a unique expression in the panorama of urban viticulture. I was immediately struck by the impact of this project from the agricultural point of view but also from the social point of view. I believe that Can Calopa’s contribution will help the association to increase international relations and to develop a new innovative vision of urban social agriculture”, he explained. Along the same lines, the head of production at L’Olivera, Pau Moragas, points out that this collaboration with the UVA reinforces the international ties of L’Olivera, an entity that has always been open to the world, and that will also contribute to highlighting this cultural dimension of wine linked to big cities.
Since 2021, Can Calopa has been immersed in a phase of replanting native varieties which, together with the La Vinoteca de Can Calopa wine bar, wine tourism visits, space rental and educational and informative activities at the Can Calopa Classroom, will ensure the productive and economic future of the project.