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Every quarter of an hour or so, an ageing diesel-powered railway carriage pulls into a graffiti-covered stop. Close by, a law enforcement alarm cuts through the almost continuous traffic drone. Commuters rush by collapsing, ivy-draped garden fences as rain clouds gather.

This is maybe the last place you expect to find a perfectly formed grape-growing plot. However James Bayliss-Smith has managed to 40 mature vines heavy with round mauve grapes on a rambling garden plot sandwiched between a row of historic homes and a commuter railway just north of Bristol downtown.

"I've seen individuals hiding illegal substances or whatever in those bushes," states the grower. "But you simply continue ... and continue caring for your vines."

Bayliss-Smith, 46, a documentary cameraman who runs a fermented beverage company, is not the only urban winemaker. He's organized a loose collective of growers who make wine from four hidden city grape gardens nestled in private yards and allotments throughout Bristol. The project is sufficiently underground to possess an official name yet, but the group's messaging chat is called Grape Expectations.

Urban Vineyards Across the World

So far, the grower's allotment is the only one registered in the Urban Vineyards Association's forthcoming global directory, which features better-known city vineyards such as the 1,800 vines on the slopes of Paris's renowned artistic district area and more than 3,000 vines overlooking and within Turin. Based in Italy non-profit association is at the vanguard of a movement re-establishing urban grape cultivation in historic wine-producing nations, but has identified them all over the globe, including urban centers in East Asia, South Asia and Uzbekistan.

"Vineyards assist cities remain greener and ecologically varied. These spaces protect land from development by establishing permanent, yielding farming plots inside urban environments," says the association's president.

Like all wines, those produced in urban areas are a result of the earth the plants grow in, the unpredictability of the climate and the individuals who tend the fruit. "A bottle of wine embodies the beauty, community, environment and heritage of a urban center," adds the president.

Unknown Polish Grapes

Back in Bristol, the grower is in a race against time to harvest the vines he grew from a cutting left in his allotment by a Polish family. Should the rain comes, then the pigeons may take advantage to feast again. "Here we have the enigmatic Polish variety," he says, as he cleans damaged and mouldy grapes from the glistering clusters. "The variety remains uncertain what variety they are, but they're definitely disease-resistant. Unlike noble varieties – Burgundy grapes, white wine grapes and additional renowned French grapes – you don't have to treat them with chemicals ... this could be a unique cultivar that was developed by the Eastern Bloc."

Group Efforts Throughout the City

Additional participants of the group are additionally taking advantage of sunny interludes between bursts of autumn rain. On the terrace with views of Bristol's shimmering waterfront, where historic trading ships once floated with casks of vintage from Europe and the Iberian peninsula, Katy Grant is collecting her dark berries from about 50 vines. "I love the aroma of the grapevines. The scent is so evocative," she remarks, stopping with a basket of grapes slung over her arm. "It's the scent of Provence when you roll down the vehicle windows on vacation."

Grant, fifty-two, who has spent over two decades working for charitable groups in war-torn regions, unexpectedly inherited the vineyard when she returned to the UK from East Africa with her household in 2018. She experienced an strong responsibility to maintain the vines in the garden of their new home. "This plot has already survived three different owners," she says. "I deeply appreciate the concept of natural stewardship – of handing this down to someone else so they can continue producing from this land."

Sloping Gardens and Traditional Production

A short walk away, the remaining cultivators of the group are hard at work on the precipitous slopes of Avon Gorge. Jo Scofield has established over 150 plants perched on terraces in her expansive property, which tumbles down towards the silty River Avon. "Visitors frequently express amazement," she notes, gesturing towards the interwoven grape garden. "It's astonishing to them they are viewing rows of vines in a urban neighborhood."

Today, the filmmaker, 60, is picking bunches of dusty purple dark berries from lines of vines arranged along the cliff-side with the help of her daughter, Luca. Scofield, a documentary producer who has worked on Netflix's Great National Parks series and television network's gardening shows, was inspired to cultivate vines after seeing her neighbor's grapevines. She has learned that hobbyists can make intriguing, enjoyable traditional vintage, which can command prices of upwards of seven pounds a serving in the increasing quantity of establishments focusing on low-processing wines. "It is deeply rewarding that you can truly create quality, natural wine," she states. "It's very fashionable, but in reality it's resurrecting an old way of making vintage."

"When I tread the grapes, all the wild yeasts are released from the surfaces and enter the liquid," explains the winemaker, partially submerged in a container of small branches, pips and crimson juice. "This represents how wines were made traditionally, but industrial wineries add preservatives to kill the wild yeast and subsequently incorporate a lab-grown culture."

Challenging Conditions and Inventive Approaches

A few doors down sprightly retiree another cultivator, who motivated his neighbor to establish her vines, has gathered his companions to pick Chardonnay grapes from the 100 vines he has arranged precisely across multiple levels. The former teacher, a Lancashire-born physical education instructor who taught at the local university developed a passion for wine on regular visits to France. But it is a challenge to grow Chardonnay grapes in the dampness of the valley, with cooling tides moving through from the nearby estuary. "I aimed to make French-style vintages here, which is somewhat ambitious," says Reeve with amusement. "Chardonnay is slow-maturing and very sensitive to fungal infections."

"My goal was creating Burgundian wines in this environment, which is rather ambitious"

The temperamental Bristol climate is not the sole challenge encountered by grape cultivators. The gardener has had to erect a fence on