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Every 20 minutes or so, an older diesel train arrives at a graffiti-covered station. Close by, a law enforcement alarm cuts through the near-constant road noise. Daily travelers rush by collapsing, ivy-draped garden fences as rain clouds gather.

It is maybe the last place you expect to find a perfectly formed vineyard. But James Bayliss-Smith has managed to 40 mature vines sagging with round mauve grapes on a sprawling garden plot sandwiched between a row of 1930s houses and a commuter railway just above the city town centre.

"I've seen individuals concealing heroin or other items in those bushes," says the grower. "But you simply continue ... and continue caring for your vines."

The cameraman, 46, a filmmaker who also has a fermented beverage company, is among several urban winemaker. He has organized a loose collective of cultivators who produce wine from four discreet city grape gardens tucked away in private yards and community plots throughout the city. It is sufficiently underground to possess an official name so far, but the collective's WhatsApp group is called Vineyard Dreams.

Urban Wine Gardens Across the Globe

To date, the grower's plot is the sole location registered in the Urban Vineyards Association's forthcoming global directory, which features more famous city vineyards such as the 1,800 plants on the hillsides of the French capital's historic Montmartre neighbourhood and over 3,000 grapevines overlooking and within Turin. The Italian-based non-profit association is at the forefront of a movement re-establishing urban grape cultivation in historic wine-producing nations, but has identified them all over the globe, including cities in East Asia, South Asia and Uzbekistan.

"Grape gardens assist urban areas stay more eco-friendly and ecologically varied. They preserve open space from development by creating permanent, yielding farming plots within urban environments," says the association's president.

Similar to other vintages, those created in cities are a result of the earth the vines grow in, the vagaries of the weather and the individuals who care for the fruit. "A bottle of wine represents the beauty, community, environment and heritage of a urban center," adds the president.

Unknown Eastern European Variety

Back in the city, the grower is in a urgent timeline to harvest the grapevines he cultivated from a plant abandoned in his garden by a Eastern European household. If the rain arrives, then the pigeons may seize their chance to attack again. "This is the mystery Eastern European variety," he comments, as he cleans bruised and rotten berries from the glistering clusters. "We don't really know what variety they are, but they are certainly hardy. In contrast to noble varieties – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and additional renowned French grapes – you need not spray them with chemicals ... this is possibly a special variety that was developed by the Soviets."

Collective Activities Throughout Bristol

Additional participants of the group are additionally taking advantage of bright periods between bursts of fall precipitation. At a rooftop garden overlooking Bristol's glistening waterfront, where medieval merchant vessels once bobbed with casks of vintage from Europe and the Iberian peninsula, Katy Grant is collecting her rondo grapes from approximately 50 plants. "I adore the smell of the grapevines. It is so reminiscent," she says, pausing with a basket of grapes resting on her shoulder. "It recalls the fragrance of Provence when you open the vehicle windows on vacation."

The humanitarian worker, fifty-two, who has spent over two decades working for charitable groups in war-torn regions, inadvertently inherited the grape garden when she moved back to the United Kingdom from East Africa with her family in recent years. She felt an strong responsibility to maintain the grapevines in the garden of their new home. "This plot has already endured multiple proprietors," she says. "I deeply appreciate the concept of environmental care – of passing this on to future caretakers so they continue producing from the soil."

Terraced Gardens and Traditional Winemaking

Nearby, the remaining cultivators of the collective are hard at work on the steep inclines of Avon Gorge. Jo Scofield has established more than 150 vines perched on terraces in her wild half-acre garden, which descends towards the silty River Avon. "People are always surprised," she notes, indicating the interwoven grape garden. "They can't believe they can see grapevine lines in a urban neighborhood."

Currently, the filmmaker, sixty, is harvesting clusters of deep violet Rondo grapes from rows of vines arranged along the hillside with the assistance of her child, her family member. The conservationist, a wildlife and conservation film-maker who has contributed to Netflix's nature programming and BBC Two's gardening shows, was motivated to cultivate vines after observing her neighbour's grapevines. She's discovered that amateurs can make intriguing, enjoyable traditional vintage, which can sell for more than seven pounds a glass in the increasing quantity of establishments focusing on low-processing vintages. "It is incredibly satisfying that you can truly make good, traditional vintage," she states. "It is quite on trend, but really it's resurrecting an traditional method of making vintage."

"During foot-stomping the fruit, the various natural microorganisms come off the skins and enter the juice," explains the winemaker, ankle deep in a container of tiny stems, pips and crimson juice. "That's how wines were historically produced, but commercial producers introduce preservatives to eliminate the wild yeast and subsequently add a commercially produced culture."

Challenging Environments and Creative Approaches

In the immediate vicinity active senior Bob Reeve, who inspired Scofield to plant her vines, has gathered his companions to harvest Chardonnay grapes from one hundred vines he has laid out neatly across multiple levels. The former teacher, a Lancashire-born PE teacher who taught at the local university cultivated an interest in viticulture on annual sporting trips to Europe. But it is a challenge to cultivate Chardonnay grapes in the humidity of the valley, with cooling tides sweeping in and out from the Bristol Channel. "I wanted to make Burgundian wines in this location, which is a bit bonkers," says Reeve with a smile. "Chardonnay is slow-maturing and very sensitive to mildew."

"My goal was creating European-style vintages in this environment, which is rather ambitious"

The unpredictable local weather is not the only problem faced by grape cultivators. Reeve has had to install a barrier on