The Urban Vineyard Project: Crowd-Planting the Largest Urban Vineyard in the World

When you think of a vineyard, what comes to mind? Most people would imagine country hillsides or plains covered with green & lush vines full of vibrantly-hued grapes. These vineyards are planted in pristine areas, away from the noise & pollution of city life. This is set to change though, with Australia gearing up to crowd-plant vines across Sydney, with the aim to establish the LARGEST URBAN VINEYARD in the world. Interestingly, Sydney has been chosen as the spot for this massive project because the very first grapevines of Australia were planted in the centre of this city on Macquarie Street in the CBD, way back in 1791. The Urban Vineyard Project aims to encourage Sydney dwellers to plant an inter-connected vineyard across the whole city, with people nurturing vines in their balconies, backyards, rooftop gardens or windowsills. The project will begin with the free distribution of Riesling and Pinot Noir plantings. The very first batch of vines was given out during the Wine Island festival held in Sydney a couple of weeks back. Once planted, people can upload the location of their grapevines on an online hub. Eventually, a map of the urban vineyard will get generated, and people would be able to track the growth of the vines in REAL TIME! Isn’t that amazing? All participants are requested to choose a sunny spot to plant vines – one that receives ample morning sunlight, but not too much of the glaring afternoon heat. They are also required to snip off the bottom & top of the vines, in order to expose the green wood, and plant the vine cutting in 10-20cm of nutrient-rich soil, buds facing up of course. It is yet to be seen whether the inner-city conditions of Sydney will prove to be favourable for such a widespread project, but this innovative idea of crowd-planting is certainly an exciting prospect!