Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - September 2024

September 9, 2024

Weather folklore for September states that “grey mists at dawn, the day will be warm”. Unfortunately this year a piece of seaweed would be more useful for meteorological predictions in our vineyard!


This year the weather has been abysmal for growing grapes in England: a cold, late Spring, followed by a predominantly wet Summer with very few warm spells. We live in hope for an ‘Indian Summer’ between now and late October but I am not holding my breath. The years in which we have abundant harvests - such as 2023 - help us to navigate the challenges of a year like the current one.


Thankfully we have plentiful supplies of wines from previous vintages - some of you will have had the chance by now to sample them on the two days we opened during August and September. Our harvest this year will ( assuming the grapes are left alone by badgers, pheasants, and other winged foragers ) be low yielding. Although there is reason to believe that the balance of sugar and acidity will produce outstanding sparkling wine albeit a very limited edition! Time will tell.


Our shop will be open on Saturday 14th September for tastings / purchases of our recent releases, we would be grateful if interest in attending could be done via the link below:


https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1011346553767?aff=oddtdtcreator

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - December 2024

By GODSTONE • December 16, 2024
As the year draws to a close it’s time to reflect on the past year: the weather has dominated proceedings - a year characterised by incessant rainfall at the wrong time of the growing season which, coupled with severe bird damage on ripening grapes, resulted in no harvest at Godstone in 2024. This was incredibly disappointing. We have significant stocks of wines - bottled and unbottled - from previous harvests which will ensure continuity of supply in the short to medium term, however, a harvest in 2025 will be critically important if we are to avoid supply side disruption in the future. Fingers crossed for a far better year ahead. We will be opening our shop and café once a month throughout 2025. Our next date is Saturday 18th January and if you would like to attend then please reserve a place using the link below: 

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog - November 2024

By GODSTONE • November 15, 2024
14th November 2024 I have moved on from the disappointment of this year’s crop failure and begun our preparations for next season - winter pruning commenced this week on our Bacchus, which is very early but we have a lot to do ! A busy winter lies ahead with new hedges to be planted, vines to be pruned, and wirework which needs repairing. It was wonderful seeing so many of you at our open days throughout the Summer and Autumn, your support means so much to me. With that in mind I am pleased to announce that, if you wish to enjoy our wines over the forthcoming festive season then we will be open for two days during early December. Wednesday 4th December 10am-4pm Saturday 7th December 10am-4pm On both days we will be offering our Charcuterie & Cheese Platters. An invitation to attend will be sent out very soon via email. Kind Regards Jonathan
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