Our STORY
A journey from one acre of old paddock to the first glasses of Goodworth Sparkling.
We, Mark and Cecilia Haszlakiewicz, have lived in the ancient settlement of Goodworth Clatford on the banks of the river Anton for over twenty years, but the story of our vineyard really starts in…
MAking our vineyard a reality
2015
The scene: The children have left home, the horses have left the paddock, we both enjoy a glass of wine, and our Hampshire home is surrounded by vineyards producing some of England’s very best sparkling wine.
Mark: “Don’t you think that the old paddock would make an excellent vineyard? There’s a good slope and it faces in the right direction with enough topsoil above solid chalk.”
Cecilia: “You’ve been saying it for years, and now you’re seventy – why don’t we do it before you really are too old?”
So, we decide to take advice, get some soil samples and, if the omens are good, to plant an acre of vines with our entire focus on quality rather than quantity.
2016
The signs are most encouraging, so we take the decision to devote the next few years of our lives to producing the very best quality grapes.
We mow,
we spray,
we plough,
we harrow,
we measure,
we fence,
we harrow again,
and, finally, we PLANT!
2017
The paddock is starting to look like a young vineyard!
Cecilia: “Will we get any grapes this year?”
Mark: “No – we need to get the roots really well established first.”
Cecilia: “So, what do we do now?”
Mark: “We carry on weeding, and spraying and trimming...”
Cecilia: “And then?”
Mark: “We do it all again!”
2018
The vines are doing well – they obviously like the paddock – and the grapes are growing!
And, having been much impressed by the team at the Halfpenny Green Wine Estate, a family-run vineyard and winery in Staffordshire, we arrange for them to turn our grapes into wine.
We have our very first harvest. Friends and villagers kindly volunteer to help pick our three different varietals.
2019
All our hard work is coming to fruition. Not only do we have a bumper harvest of five tonnes of great-looking grapes, but we also get our first indication of the 2018 quality.
Mark: “It’s time to head up to Halfpenny Green to taste the base wines and decide on the blend.”
Cecilia: “That’s so exciting. But what if we don’t like it?”
Mark: “Well, let’s taste and see.”
Cecilia: “Yum!”
Mark: “Yum!”
(And Halfpenny Green thinks so, too.)
2020
After an excellent harvest in 2019, we are hit by a heavy frost on May 13th, 2020. Our heating wires cannot cope and we lose 95% of our potential crop.
There will be practically no grapes this year. But the work of mowing, weeding, spraying, and nurturing goes on. We are greatly comforted by the bounty of our last two harvests.
That’s farming for you!
2021
Excitement, mixed with nervousness, grows as we await the first bottles of Goodworth 2018.
The labels have been designed, the dosage agreed, and at last the great day (which just happened to coincide with Cecilia’s 70th birthday) arrived, along with thirty guests to help judge. We opened, we poured, we tasted – and we smiled and celebrated!
2022
Our 2018 is proving a huge success – everyone wants to drink it.
We are delighted to be awarded a bronze medal at the WineGB, a silver at the English Independent Wine Awards, and finally a gold at the international ‘Glass of Bubbly’ competitions. The only downside? There is hardly enough left for us!
Meanwhile, 2022 has produced magnificently ripe and tasty grapes – there will be some great drinking in a few year’s time.
And a bit more good news: we will be releasing a small batch of our excellent 2019 Classic Blend, together with our first Rose Blend from our 2019/2020 harvest in time for some Christmas cheer!