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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

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

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

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 June 2024 17th June 2024 In spite of the cool, wet Spring and early Summer – which is far from ideal for vines – we have some wonderful news to impart: firstly, our Sparkling Rose from the 2021 harvest has been awarded a silver medal by the IEWA; secondly, we will be holding an ‘Open Day’ on Saturday 10th August. Our Sparkling Rose from the 2021 harvest is 95% Seyval Blanc, 4% Pinot Noir, and 1% Acolon. It has achieved an alcohol content of 11.5% with titratable acidity of 8.5 grams/litre, creating a perfect balance of crisp acidity which is a prerequisite of English Sparkling Wine. We have 900 bottles of this award-winning wine so as with all our wines it is a very limited edition. Open Day – Saturday 10th August 10am-4pm We are delighted to reopen - in a limited way - after a very challenging period dealing with the technicalities of probate – finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. Join us on Saturday 10th August for the launch of our award-winning sparkling and still wines – the opportunity to taste and buy our new release wines at farmgate prices. Bring along friends and family, walk the vineyard, chat with the owners, relax in our garden or under our terrace, enjoy alfresco local meats and cheeses. Free entry – numbers limited and subject to availability – to avoid disappointment please register your interest as soon as possible by sending me an email to: jcdeeley@godstonevineyards.com We hope to see you in August – meanwhile fingers crossed that we get some Summer weather !

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog 26th March 2024 Winter has been incredibly wet and outdoor work in the vineyard has been anything but fun - however these are a few of the jobs which have been keeping us busy over the past few months: Pruning our vines - the single most important task undertaken in the vineyard and one which will have the greatest influence on potential yields and quality; Pruning our windbreaks - we have to undertake routine maintenance every few years to ensure that they don’t get too tall or wide - it is a difficult task which requires the expertise of a local contractor; Planting new hedges and trees - we do this every winter and the results are beginning to speak for themselves. Our shop and cafe will remain closed throughout 2024 whilst we deal with a myriad of issues following the devastating loss of our mother last November. If you would like to visit us this year then your chance to do so is via our volunteering days - our two early season ones will be held on: Tuesday 7th May Monday 3rd June Approximately 6 hours of gentle work within the vineyard followed by lunch and free flowing Godstone wine - if you would like to join the fun please let me know asap ! Jonathan & Robert 

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog 22nd January 2024 It might surprise you to know that January is one of the busiest months in the vineyard year. Pruning is in full swing plus we are busy planting new hedges and trees. Pruning is the single most important task in a vineyard because we are choosing the buds that will produce the fruit for harvest. It is a crucial task which helps us to maintain the vine’s formation; regulates the number and positioning of shoots thereby concentrating growth into key areas; improves fruit quality and generally ensures that the vine does not get out of control ! We have some vines which are now 36 years old and if anything the quality of their grapes is improving year on year, however, as you can see from the above image a vine of this maturity also requires some fairly drastic pruning in order to maintain its shape. This winter we have removed as much old bulky wood as possible from the crown of these vines and so far I am very satisfied with the resulting structure. A vine requires a lot of energy to power the sap as it rises up the plant once growth commences in the Spring so we are basically trying to reduce its workload - this happens to the best of us as we get older ! Our shop and cafe are taking a short break whilst we transition the business following the sad passing away of our mother last November; we are very grateful for the many messages of support and kind words you have written to us during this difficult time. We will see you again soon. Jonathan & Robert

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog 23rd November 2023 It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that our mother, June Deeley, passed away peacefully at home on 8th November, after a mercifully short battle against cancer. I am sure many of our regular visitors will have become familiar over the years with seeing my mother at her vineyard; it was her “happy place” and it provided her with the serenity and peacefulness which she deserved and craved. Our mother was involved with the vineyard since its inception back in the mid 1980’s and took great pride in running the shop as though it were an extension of her home - ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ would be a very suitable epitaph to her dedication in ensuring that everything was always orderly and well run. Our mother left the cultural aspects of the vineyard to our team of contractors - although once a month she would do a ‘grand tour’ of the vines to ensure that everything was ‘spick and span’, and woe betide if the hedges and verges were not kept neat and tidy ! Our mother’s mantra was always ‘KBO’ (keep buggering on) whatever the situation in which she found herself - she had lived through evacuation during WW2 and the ensuing food rationing, which clearly left an indelible mark and made her the amazing person we will always remember. It was fitting - and gave her immense pride - that her final year saw Godstone win a gold medal for our sparkling wine plus a record harvest in October. Our mother will be sorely missed in so many ways - “To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die”. (If you would like details of our mother’s funeral, which will take place in early December, please contact me via email and I will provide you with the details.

Jonathan’s Vineyard Blog 30th October 2023 Another year, another harvest! I am glad to report that our harvest was ultimately a very good one, in spite of heavy rainfall at key periods during the Summer and early Autumn. We were blessed with good weather on all three harvest days and, if you were one of those who volunteered your help, may we extend our heartfelt thanks for giving freely your time and dedication. Our Bacchus were picked on 1st October and the Seyval Blanc on 15th & 16th October; acidity and pH were about as perfect as it’s possible to achieve on the Bacchus and also perfectly respectable on the Seyval. In total, we harvested 3,000 kilos of grapes, which is just below our maximum potential of 3,750 kilos. All in all, a good year which promises very good wines for drinking in the years ahead. We have recently introduced a Charcuterie Platter to our menu which features gorgeous cold cuts from Owley Farm in Tenterden, Kent. Why not pop along and try it with a glass of our award winning wine, we are always delighted to see you. We are extremely busy at weekends so I strongly recommend that you book a great place on our terrace and/or garden area here . Kind Regards,  Jonathan & Family