Much of the wine we drink comes from grapes grown in vast vineyards across the Mediterranean, Australia and California. But a small movement of urban growers is proving that an inner-city parcel of land can make not only a worthy vineyard, but a defiant use of real estate, too. Happily, grapes like poor soil. “It is fortunate for mankind that the vine thrives on soil that is little good for anything else,” self-sufficiency pioneer John Seymour wrote in The Self-Sufficient Gardener. With a bit of elbow grease, even vacant lots can be put to use. 

In Morningside, Detroit, for example, the community and nonprofits have worked with local winery Detroit Vineyards to plant 1,000 vines in empty lots. When these cold-hardy red Marquette grapes are eventually pressed, the wine’s terroir (the French term used to describe all environmental factors that influence a wine) will reflect Detroit’s lakeside climate, frequent fogs and heavy, alkaline soils—as well as its social fabric, like the local knowledge of the growers digging down through the city’s concrete layers.

Even the most populous cities can be home to vineyards. In 1930s Paris, residents created the Clos Montmartre vineyard in order to block a real estate project—its deep-blue grapes are still harvested annually by the city. In 2013, inspired by time spent in Paris, winemaker Elly Hartshorn convinced San Francisco’s Recreation & Parks Department to let locals grow on vacant parkland. These growers are seizing space wherever it presents itself, and creating wines that sum up the distinct flavors of their city.