Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - October 2024

GODSTONE • October 10, 2024

I regret to inform my loyal readers that, for only the second time in our history, there will be no harvest at Godstone in 2024 (2012 was the other year). We have, with heavy hearts, raised the white flag after an unforgiving climatic year which culminated in sustained crop damage caused by starlings, pigeons, badgers, and pheasants.


The weather in 2024 has, for vines and many other crops, been horrendous - hereunder is a recap of what we have endured thus far:


  • Spring 2024:
  • March - cold and very wet
  • April - cold
  • May - warm and very wet
  • Conclusion - triple the long-term average monthly Spring rainfall.
  • Summer 2024:
  • June & July - below average temperatures
  • August - slightly above average temperatures
  • Conclusion - the coolest Summer in South East England since 2015 with average rainfall.
  • Autumn 2024:
  • Unrelenting rainfall making disease control almost impossible (at the time of writing it shows no signs of relenting).


Many people are asking me where the most damage occurred and the answer is the Spring - a brief period of warmth encouraged the vines to open their buds only for this to prove a false dawn as a band of very cold nights descended upon the vineyard and caused significant bud damage. The buds which survived were then faced with biblical rainfall during the flowering period which resulted in very low fruit set.


We spent the Summer nurturing the remaining bunches of grapes in the hope that a crop could be salvaged but all to no avail, anything that survived the elements was eaten by ravenous birds!


It’s been one of those years and, of course, immensely disappointing; however I have learnt many valuable lessons which will be implemented from next year and - thankfully - we have sufficient wines in store from the years of bounty to see us through a desperate one such as 2024.


Thank you for all your kind words of support and we hope to see you at the vineyard either on October 26th or in early December.


Jonathan

(The image above shows the combined effects of botrytis - caused by the incessant rain - and bird damage from starlings and pigeons)

Saturday the 26th of October 2024

Join Us For Our Autumn Celebration

Our boutique vineyard will be open for wine sales, walks around the vineyard, carefully curated platters, and hot food options.

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog -November 2025

By GODSTONE • November 5, 2025
We have arrived at the end of another year in the vineyard and I am delighted to say that the vines have excelled themselves in what was, admittedly, a very good year to be cultivating grapes in England. The disappointment of no harvest in 2024 was a distant memory on Sunday 5th October when, under cloudless blue skies, we picked top quality grapes which will be made into a Sparkling Wine for release in 2028; the grapes had an almost perfect balance of acidity and natural sugar, excellent quality with barely any disease. I would venture to say that 2025 will match 2022, which was the last great vintage in England, time will tell ! I would like to thank those of you who helped with the harvest and also for your efforts throughout the Spring and Summer, it is greatly appreciated and we couldn’t do it without you ! As many of you know by now, our vineyard is planted predominantly with a variety called Seyval Blanc, which - in our opinion - is ideally suited to English conditions. Undoubtedly the doyen of Seyval Blanc was Peter Hall, of Breaky Bottom vineyard near Lewes, and it is with great sadness that we learnt of his passing last month. My brother and I were fortunate to have a private audience with him in 2024 in which he imparted some valuable tricks of his trade ! His obituary (below) gives you a feel for this incredible vigneron who will be much missed. English wine has lost a great character. https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/tribute-peter-hall-1943-2025 Rest In Peace, Peter Hall, 1943-2025 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