EDITOR'S VISIT
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A tale of tenacity in the face of trials
Rebecca Far
As visitors arrive at Beals Green Farm the home of Heartenoak Vineyard, Hawkhurst one of the first things you notice is the plethora of ancient oak trees that cover the site. The vineyard planted in 2020 is owned and managed by husband and wife team David and Sue Ford. In particular one large tree is a remarkably poignant reminder that from adversity can come triumph. The mighty tree lies on its side “felled by a storm long before we arrived here,” said David (possibly the storm of 1987 that felled so many trees in the area) and yet from its trunk grow new trees sturdy and secure on this foundation born of adversity. Having purchased the farm, which now consists of 53 acres, as a place to raise their family David and Sue worked hard to renovate the farmhouse. “It was the land that sold the house,” said David. “In theory the house had heating,” added Sue with a smile as she thought back to those early days. Both David and Sue explained that although the farmhouse was not really habitable the planning process for renovations and extension had been extremely difficult. Sitting in their comfortable kitchen with its well used aga David and Sue describe how this space was used by their daughter Immie and her boyfriend Euan McDonnell to add the wax tops to the bottles of their first vintage, Cabernet Noir 2022. Twenty years ago when the family bought the land there was one particular south east facing slope that David thought would be planted with vines one day. This vision has expanded and now there are several fields totalling 10 acres planted with 15,000 vines in 2.2m rows that make up Heartenoak Vineyard. “The patchwork nature of the High Weald means we lose some space,” explained David. However the original field that David had pictured as the vineyard has been left untouched – having provided the inspiration the slope proved to be a little too sloping. “One of the other slopes on the farm is used by people from miles around in the snow as a toboggan run,” said David. In 2018 David and Sue entered into conversations with a local winery. A practical way to ensure that the grapes they were
