Can Calopa de Dalt

Can Calopa de Dalt is a 16th-century farmhouse in the Santa Creu d'Olorda area, tucked inside the Collserola Natural Park above Barcelona. It is the only place within the city limits where vines are grown and wine carrying the Barcelona designation is made.

Where is Can Calopa de Dalt located?

The estate sits in the Collserola range, roughly 30 minutes from downtown Barcelona, surrounded by forest trails. The building is listed in Catalonia's architectural heritage inventory and still preserves late-Gothic features from its original construction.

What is the history behind the farmhouse?

The Calopa name first appears in records in 1662, when vines were already being cultivated on the land. The vineyard survived for more than two centuries until phylloxera, the pest that devastated vineyards across Europe, wiped it out in the late 19th century. For decades afterward the land belonged to the city and was managed by park authorities without any active winemaking.

Everything changed in 2001, when Barcelona's then-mayor Joan Clos, inspired by a municipal vineyard project he had seen in Paris used for official receptions, decided to replant vines at Can Calopa. Park staff initially tended the plot, but in 2010 the cooperative L'Olivera took over the entire operation and still runs it today.

What happens at Can Calopa de Dalt today?

L'Olivera is a worker cooperative and a Special Employment Centre that hires people at risk of social exclusion and people with disabilities — around a dozen workers currently. The farm grows organic vines and olives, producing the only wine and olive oil made within Barcelona's city boundaries. Output reaches up to 12,000 bottles a year, split between two red wines called Vinyes de Collserola and Vinyes de Barcelona.

The masia therefore serves two roles at once: a historic working farm and a social project that ties agriculture to job integration. Visitors can join vineyard walks, tastings, and breakfasts held on site, making it one of the few examples of true urban wine tourism in Europe.

Why is it worth a visit?

Can Calopa de Dalt brings together several things rarely found together: five-hundred-year-old rural architecture, the last working vineyard inside a major metropolitan area, and a social enterprise with a genuine local impact. It also works as a starting point for longer walks through Collserola, the green lung of Barcelona that stays largely off the radar for visitors focused on the city centre.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit Can Calopa de Dalt? Yes. The cooperative L'Olivera runs guided visits, wine and oil tastings, and on-site breakfasts as part of its wine tourism programme.

What is L'Olivera and how is it connected to the farmhouse? L'Olivera is a cooperative and Special Employment Centre that hires people at risk of social exclusion. Since 2010 it has managed the vines and olive groves at Can Calopa, combining organic farming with job integration.

Where does the name and history of the place come from? The Calopa name is documented from 1662, when vines were already grown on the estate. The vineyard disappeared at the end of the 19th century due to phylloxera and was only replanted in 2001 on the initiative of the city council.

What products come from Can Calopa de Dalt? The farm produces wine under the names Vinyes de Collserola and Vinyes de Barcelona — up to 12,000 bottles a year — and olive oil, the only products of their kind made within Barcelona's administrative boundaries.