The Loire, Bordeaux, Champagne ... when planning a wine-tasting trip to France, these are the regions that spring to mind. But few people realise that it's also possible to combine the country's most enjoyable pastime with a trip to its favourite city, and that, tucked away on top of Montmartre hill, in the shadow of Sacré-Coeur, there is a pretty, working vineyard.

Though most tourists pass by the Clos Montmartre vineyard unawares, in October, attention is drawn to this little patch of viniculture for an annual five-day grape harvest festival, the Fête des Vendanges.

Vineyards have flourished on Montmartre since the Romans built a temple here dedicated to Bacchus, god of wine. A Benedictine abbey was created on the hill in the 12th century but destroyed during the French revolution, although Clos Montmartre was spared. In the early 20th century phylloxera destroyed the vines, and due to the annexation and subsequent urbanisation of Montmartre by the city of Paris, the vineyard lay fallow – and almost became victim of property developers. But in the early 30s a group of local artists led by Francis Poulbot, a famous illustrator, petitioned the government to grant them the land so they could replant the vines. Albert Lebrun's government approved the plan and Clos Montmartre was renewed in 1933.

Now funded by the Mairie de Paris, it covers 1,556 sq m and yields 1,500 half-litre bottles of gamay and pinot noir annually. Most of the wine, in bottles with labels designed by local artists, is auctioned for local charities during the festival, and is considered "decent enough" by critics. "You buy it for pleasure, as a souvenir of a fun event," says food writer Alain Neyman. "Recent bottles have become collectors' items."

There are now around 150 vineyards in the Paris region, an initiative financed by Les Vignerons Franciliens, a group of passionate winemakers. European regulations restrict the creation of new vineyards, so most are experimental, educational and community projects, but some are open to visitors.

In the build up to this year's fete, I made a visit to Clos Montmartre where a team of specialist gardeners were busy with the pre-harvest tidying. The vineyard is relatively easy to find: from the corner of rue des Saules and rue Saint Vincent and facing the Musée Montmartre, there is a perfect view of the vineyards, and a little hidden passage leads directly down to them from the museum.

There I found the sloping vineyard, punctuated with miniature peach trees and colourful plants. There are great views of the city – on a clear day you can see the Eiffel Tower. I met Francis Gourdin, a top oenologist who has advised Clos Montmartre since 1995. "It's not easy to make good wine in such a polluted spot but it's not impossible," he explained during my guided tour, which he also lays on for visitors during the festival. "I never promise miracles. With capricious Paris summers, the wines have their highs and lows, and we fret about attacks of mushrooms and fungus . . . I tell you, it's year-long stress. But my goal is to make well-structured red wine, and this year's cuvée Les Trois Baudets has nice earthy undertones, thanks to the August sunshine."

The Fête des Vendanges is undoubtedly the best time to visit. Otherwise, entry to the vineyard has to be arranged through the Montmartre tourist office, at Place du Tertre, two minutes from the vineyard. They usually require you come in a group of at least 12 – though smaller groups may be lucky if the vineyard is not too busy – and you pay for a tasting, although the tour is free.

Each year the festival takes on a different historic theme, and this year's will be "Cabaret – Montmartre celebrates Les Trois Baudets", the legendary 1940s theatre at 64 Boulevard de Clichy. It was recently relaunched after being disused for 40 years, with enthusiastic support from the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, an advocate for the revival of authentic French chanson/cabaret à la Brel, Piaf, Gainsbourg and Brassens.

Each year the festival recruits an A-list marraine and parrain (godmother and godfather), invited to lead the festivities by the mayors of Paris and Montmartre. This year, the honour goes to 85-year-old Charles Aznavour, France's most popular and enduring crooner. His signature song, La Bohème, recalls his tough Montmartre childhood as the son of penniless immigrants. Anaïs, a French Katy Perry adored for her impersonations of French singers such as Carla Bruni and Patricia Kaas, will be godmother. During the five-day fete, Montmartre's cafes, bars and restaurants feature the godmother and godfather's favourite dishes on their menus; this year it's Aznavour's risotto aux cèpes, Anaïs's chocolate dessert, and steak au poivre chosen by Jacques Canetti, the iconic former artistic director of Les Trois Baudets.

Also flying the flag for the event is Daniel Vaillant, charismatic mayor of the 18th arrondissement (Montmartre) for 15 years. I met him later that day at his office in the district town hall, where we toured the wine cellars and tasted the wines.

"Every autumn the grapes are taken from the vineyard and fermented in our private cellar in the basement of the town hall," he said. "When the wine ferments you can smell it in the corridors, it's pure magic. It's a big wine from a small mountain. It may be expensive at €45 a bottle, but all the proceeds go to local children's charities." This year's Cuvée Trois Baudets wasn't ready yet, but I sampled the Clos Montmartre 2007, full of soft redcurrant and black cherry flavours.

At the event, 120 exhibitors in pointy, medieval-style tents give tastings of wines from France, as well as Spain, Argentina, Canada and Slovenia. There are culinary demonstrations and workshops, and mouthwatering regional products are stacked high on decorated tables, showcasing the bounty of France: foie gras, cheese, organic fruit and vegetables, artisan breads, pastries and chocolate, as well as honeys, jams and charcuterie. I'd recommend oysters from L'Oléron, followed by homemade ice-cream and Breton pancakes while watching the coronation of Clos de Montmartre's Queen des Vendanges, a beauty queen chosen in May from a selection of local students.

There is also an intriguing Cérémony des Non-Demandés en Mariage – an amusing ritual that involves not getting married to your partner, followed by the open-air Bal des Non-Mariés at Place des Abbesses, where singletons celebrate not being married. The fete culminates in a big firework display.

This sort of event is typical of Montmartre, a self-declared "republic" created in the 1920s by a group of artists to preserve the rebellious local spirit and help the poor and needy.

The 560 members of the Republic's Council (republique-de-montmartre.com), a gregarious mixture of politicians, ambassadors, writers and musicians, come to celebrate Les Vendanges wearing traditional robes, red scarves, black capes and hats, joining wine lovers from all over France, locals and tourists, who pack into the funicular to reach the vineyard.

"Last year we had 350,000 visitors over the five days," said Mayor Vaillant. "We're not producing Château Margaux here. The important thing is that we give pleasure to a wide cross-section of people. It's our salute to centuries of Parisian viticultural heritage."

• The 76th Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre takes place from 7-11 Oct (fetedesvendangesdemontmartre.com), admission free. Where to stay: Art Hotel Paris in the heart of Montmartre, from €75-€135 per night (art-hotel-paris.com). Where to eat: Le Vieux Chalet (14bis rue Norvins, 0033 1 46 06 21 44) is a colourful, family owned bistro and garden on Place du Tertre; Bistrot Poulbot (39 rue Lamarck, +1 46 06 86 00) offers trencherman portions of the classics. Tourist Office, Montmartre (+1 42 62 21 21). Paris Regional Wine Tours by Melba Allen (discoverparis.net). Margaret Kemp is editor-at-large of bonjourparis.com