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Every quarter of an hour or so, an ageing diesel-powered railway carriage arrives at a spray-painted station. Close by, a police siren cuts through the almost continuous traffic drone. Commuters rush by collapsing, ivy-draped fencing panels as rain clouds form.

It is maybe the least likely spot you expect to find a well-established grape-growing plot. But James Bayliss-Smith has managed to four dozen established plants heavy with round mauve grapes on a rambling garden plot situated between a row of historic homes and a commuter railway just above the city town centre.

"I've noticed people concealing heroin or other items in those bushes," states Bayliss-Smith. "Yet you just get on with it ... and continue caring for your grapevines."

Bayliss-Smith, forty-six, a documentary cameraman who also has a kombucha drinks business, is not the only local vintner. He has pulled together a loose collective of growers who produce wine from several hidden city grape gardens nestled in back gardens and allotments throughout Bristol. The project is sufficiently underground to possess an official name so far, but the collective's WhatsApp group is called Vineyard Dreams.

City Vineyards Across the World

To date, the grower's plot is the sole location registered in the City Vineyard Network's forthcoming global directory, which includes more famous urban wineries such as the eighteen hundred plants on the slopes of the French capital's renowned Montmartre area and over three thousand grapevines with views of and within the Italian city. Based in Italy non-profit association is at the forefront of a initiative re-establishing city vineyards in traditional winemaking countries, but has discovered them all over the world, including cities in Japan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.

"Grape gardens help cities remain more eco-friendly and more diverse. These spaces protect open space from construction by creating permanent, productive farming plots within urban environments," says the organization's leader.

Like all wines, those created in urban areas are a product of the earth the plants thrive in, the vagaries of the climate and the individuals who tend the fruit. "Each vintage represents the charm, community, environment and history of a city," adds the president.

Mystery Eastern European Variety

Back in the city, the grower is in a race against time to harvest the vines he grew from a plant abandoned in his allotment by a Polish family. Should the precipitation comes, then the pigeons may take advantage to feast again. "This is the enigmatic Eastern European grape," he comments, as he cleans bruised and rotten grapes from the shimmering bunches. "We don't really know their exact classification, but they are certainly hardy. In contrast to noble varieties – Burgundy grapes, white wine grapes and additional renowned French grapes – you need not treat them with chemicals ... this could be a unique cultivar that was bred by the Eastern Bloc."

Group Activities Across the City

Additional participants of the group are also taking advantage of bright periods between showers of autumn rain. On the terrace overlooking Bristol's glistening waterfront, where historic trading ships once floated with barrels of vintage from Europe and Spain, Katy Grant is collecting her rondo grapes from approximately 50 plants. "I adore the aroma of the grapevines. It is so reminiscent," she says, stopping with a container of grapes slung over her shoulder. "It recalls the fragrance of Provence when you roll down the vehicle windows on holiday."

The humanitarian worker, 52, who has spent over 20 years working for charitable groups in conflict zones, unexpectedly inherited the vineyard when she moved back to the UK from East Africa with her household in recent years. She experienced an strong responsibility to maintain the grapevines in the yard of their recently acquired property. "This plot has previously endured multiple proprietors," she says. "I deeply appreciate the concept of environmental care – of passing this on to future caretakers so they keep cultivating from this land."

Sloping Vineyards and Natural Winemaking

A short walk away, the final two members of the collective are busily laboring on the precipitous slopes of Avon Gorge. One filmmaker has established over one hundred fifty plants situated on terraces in her wild half-acre garden, which tumbles down towards the silty local waterway. "People are always surprised," she says, gesturing towards the interwoven grape garden. "They can't believe they are viewing rows of vines in a city street."

Currently, Scofield, 60, is harvesting clusters of dusty purple Rondo grapes from lines of plants slung across the cliff-side with the help of her child, Luca. The conservationist, a wildlife and conservation film-maker who has contributed to streaming service's Great National Parks series and television network's Gardeners' World, was motivated to cultivate vines after observing her neighbor's vines. She has learned that hobbyists can produce intriguing, enjoyable natural wine, which can command prices of upwards of seven pounds a serving in the growing number of establishments focusing on low-processing vintages. "It is incredibly satisfying that you can actually make good, traditional vintage," she says. "It's very fashionable, but in reality it's resurrecting an traditional method of producing wine."

"During foot-stomping the grapes, the various natural microorganisms are released from the skins and enter the liquid," explains the winemaker, ankle deep in a container of tiny stems, pips and crimson juice. "That's how vintages were historically produced, but industrial wineries introduce preservatives to eliminate the natural cultures and subsequently add a commercially produced culture."

Challenging Environments and Inventive Solutions

In the immediate vicinity active senior another cultivator, who motivated Scofield to establish her grapevines, has gathered his friends to pick Chardonnay grapes from the 100 plants he has arranged precisely across multiple levels. Reeve, a Lancashire-born physical education instructor who taught at the local university developed a passion for viticulture on regular visits to France. But it is a difficult task to cultivate Chardonnay grapes in the humidity of the valley, with cooling tides sweeping in and out from the nearby estuary. "I aimed to make French-style vintages here, which is a bit bonkers," says the retiree with a smile. "Chardonnay is late to ripen and particularly vulnerable to mildew."

"My goal was creating Burgundian wines in this environment, which is a bit bonkers"

The unpredictable local weather is not the only challenge faced by winegrowers. Reeve has been compelled to install a fence on