Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - August 2024

August 19, 2024

We are approximately two months away from the grape harvest and it has been a very trying year in the vineyard: a wet, cold late Spring followed by a predominantly disappointing Summer meaning that our potential harvest will be low in yield..

Bacchus is a precocious variety at the best of times - in a perfect growing year it will produce wonderful grapes resulting in a stellar dry white wine; however as a variety it has struggled to cope with this year’s climatic conditions.

Seyval Blanc, on the other hand, is a reliable performer at Godstone and - once again - has come to the rescue to save the day. If we have warm sunny periods of weather between now and the end of October then I am confident we will pick sufficient grapes in order to make a high quality sparkling wine.

Our ‘Open Day’ held on 10th August was a tremendous success and many thanks to those of you who attended; it was our initial foray into reopening after what has been a very difficult and traumatic year following the passing away of my mother last November. I like to think that she would have been looking down on us with an approving smile.

We are open on Monday 2nd September between 10am-3pm for wine tastings, sales, and charcuterie / cheese platters - if you would like to visit us then please register your interest via this link to Eventbrite, if you haven’t already done so:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/godstone-vineyards-open-day-tickets-995080812497?aff=oddtdtcreator

The main project of the Summer - other than trying to grow grapes in a cold, wet climate - has been bringing a windbreak under control, in essence it had trebled in height from the original intention and created unwanted shade on the adjacent rows of vines. We used an excellent local tree surgeon and the result is most satisfactory.

Additionally we have had great success with a wildflower project - the residents of our onsite beehive have had a whale of a time ! The benefits to our ecosystem will be amazing and it’s one more component in our pathway to sustainable farming at Godstone Vineyards.

I wish you a most enjoyable end to the Summer and hope to see you soon.

Kind Regards
Jonathan

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - September 2025

By GODSTONE • September 4, 2025
The four months of the year which end in ‘ber’ are now upon us which means that Michaelmas Day (September 29th) is only three weeks away. Folklore claimed that if a north wind blew on Michaelmas Day the month of October would be sunny and fine although make the most of it because fine weather on Saint Denis’s Day (October 9th) indicates a hard winter ahead! The sayings below are my personal favourites : “Dew in the night, next day will be bright” “Grey mists at dawn, the day will be warm” “Rain before seven, fine before eleven” “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning” In an age where for most of us the first port of call for a weather forecast is an app on our mobiles, these sayings often stand the test of time! At the time of writing we do not have a definite harvest date and we continue to monitor levels of sugar and acidity every other day in the hope of arriving at the perfect day for picking! Last year the starlings treated our grapes as an open buffet so we are praying that we can avoid a repeat. We are now open every Saturday between midday and 4pm and, as always, would love to see you. Kind Regards Jonathan

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - August 2025

By GODSTONE • August 4, 2025
The weather has turned unsettled since I wrote to you in July and, after four very dry months, we have returned to a more typical mixture of sunshine and showers. At this stage in their development our grapes would prefer settled weather and certainly more sunshine than rainfall. Fingers crossed we are on course for a decent harvest however there are still a few months to go until picking ! We will soon commence Brix testing of the grapes in order to attempt a prediction of the likely harvest date - at present I would say that mid October is looking realistic for our Seyval Blanc. If you wish to know everything there is to know about Brix testing then click on this link ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brix I have some good news about our opening days for the vineyard - we intend to open most Saturdays from September onwards; I will confirm this once everything is set in stone. It’s been a long time coming and we are keen to find a “new normal” for Godstone Vineyards. In the meantime we are open over the August Bank Holiday (except Monday) and if you would like to join us please register your interest - free of charge - via the links below: Saturday 23rd August https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1250420835379?aff=oddtdtcreator Sunday 24th August https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1521889585719?aff=oddtdtcreator Kind Regards Jonathan