Lucy Chilvers - A brief History
Lucy Chivers is a small wine producer originally from the UK, now rooted in the Anoia region of Catalonia.
Her first encounter with natural wine came while working as a sommelier in restaurants across London and the south of the UK. Time spent in vineyards with growers revealed a simple but defining truth: that no truly great wine can be made in the cellar alone. It is born in the vineyard, through attentive farming and an intimate relationship with the land. This realisation sparked a deeper curiosity, leading Lucy to study a BSc in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton College.
After graduating, Lucy travelled to Italy to work alongside Saša and Ivana Radikon in Gorizia. Her time at Radikon was formative and profound — an experience that shaped not only her approach to winemaking, but her understanding of patience, trust and intuition. Saša became her mentor, opening doors and horizons, an influence she continues to honour — beginning with her first wine, named Sasa.
Returning to the UK, Lucy immersed herself in organic viticulture and low-intervention winemaking, spending several years working in vineyards along the south coast. Yet her path was always pointing south. Drawn by a deep and enduring love for Xarel·lo — a variety she finds endlessly expressive and quietly powerful — she moved to Catalonia to make wines where this grape could speak most clearly.
She began by renting small parcels of land and making wine in the cellars of others. Her first Catalan vintage was with Ignasi at Vinyes Singulars, producing two wines with gifted grapes and generous guidance. Soon after, she met Rubén Parera, who offered her both vineyard work and space to develop her own wines. With growing confidence, community and trust in her instincts, her production slowly expanded.
In 2022, seeking greater independence, Lucy moved into a cooperative created specifically for small producers. Today, she produces around 10,000 bottles each year. Her range is built around seven permanent wines, with additional special cuvées created annually in response to the rhythms of the vintage — shaped by climate, harvest conditions and the character of each year.
Her work centres on Xarel·lo, alongside Sumoll, Parellada, Macabeu, Muscat d’Alexandria and Merlot. In the cellar, nothing is added; in the vineyard, she works organically, using sulfur and a small number of biodynamic treatments, allowing time and place to guide the process.
Lucy is now based at El Bardoc, her own cellar — a beautiful, timeworn space with over 900 years of winemaking history — where she cares for the land and crafts her wines alongside her partner in love and crime, Carlos.