Veraison!

 

We hadn't checked in a few days — we were too busy pruning. To our surprise, Rondo has started changing colour — veraison has begun. The berries are looking good overall, but the growth is ridiculously vigorous. Side shoots have secondary berry clusters which I am removing. They won't mature but are sapping strength from the primary crop. 

This week's rain has caused the berries to start plumping up. Even the Pinot Noir grapes are swelling, but no sign of colour change. 

Even Pinot Noir is filling out. 

Thunderstorm warnings

 

Apparently, we had thunderstorms overnight, but Alex and I slept through them, or maybe they skipped us. Nevertheless, we've got a T-storm warning today but no evidence of rain so far. The earth is parched and the rain whatever falls is not soaking down. Soil moisture deficits generally currently range from around 40mm to 85mm, with the driest conditions across the south and east.

Over the coming week, with some rain in the forecast, values will drop a little, but not very significantly.

Low rainfall in July

 

We knew it was dry. But July ended up with only 75.2 mm of rain compared with a LTA of 111.6 mm and 130 mm last year. It was comparable to what we had in 2024 (80.8 mm). The temperature in July was also considerably warmer at 16.8C compared with 15.5 LTA. Mean soil temperature at 18.2 was also the warmest it has been in the last four years. I still cannot access the Met Éireann data from my laptop, so I'll just provide the link here. 

The end of July

 

Alex and I have been pruning the vines which are growing incredibly vigorously. We can't keep up. As soon as we are done with a row, we have to start again. Both the Rondo and Solaris are growing like wild this year, but it looks like the Rondo will have a higher yield. Even the baby plants have a couple of bunches each. Nothing turning red yet, contrary to the winegrowers group. 

What's particularly interesting is the Pinot Noir this year. It's got our first real harvest developing. Not much on the Chardonnay. I would love to have ripe Pinot Noir to show. 

It's August bank holiday weekend, and Westport is a zoo. We're going to head over to Newport tomorrow for BBQ at Newport House and to partake of the Granuiale Festival. Three days of music and street stuff -- one day will be enough. 

Pinot Noir grapes

More Pinot Noir

Rondo on the 11 yo vines

Solaris

More Pinot

Baby Rondo

Third day of rain. Up Mayo!

 

What a match on Sunday. After 75 years of drought, the team from Mayo brought Sam home. It was an exciting match against Kerry, who had won 39 times before; Mayo came from behind to win 1-20 to 1-17. The stadium went wild; people were shedding tears. Nobody left; even the Kerry crowd stayed until well into the night. After 75 years, Mayo are the 2026 All-Ireland Football Champions. 

With 20 million views, Gaelic football has gone viral, and it was not just the diaspora watching. Joe Biden and Mark Carney issued messages of congratulations, as did celebrities around the world, and not just those with connections to Mayo. Christiane Amanpour covered it on CNN. People came from all over Ireland to cheer the lads home to Castlebar, where they play at McHale Park. The celebrations took to the streets of Castlebar and Westport, and the kudos were documented at Breaffy House Hotel. 

Mayo captain Jack Coyne and the squad brought Sam Maguire to Ballyhaunis on Tuesday night.  🏆 The celebrations got underway on Main Street from 4pm, with live music by The Halez before and after the team’s arrival. 🚧 Road Closures all over. Ballina Stephenites & Belmullet GAA Club on Wednesday and Thursday; Ballaghaderreen GAA Club & Claremorris GAA Club. 

Sam will be touring the county for some time. Who cares about the rain?

So proud to call Mayo home. 

Rain and aerials

 

We had 11.3 mm of rain reported in Newport yesterday. It was a steady, gentle rain which soaked well into the ground. You could feel the relief amongst the garden dwellers, almost like a sigh off the land. It has continued to drizzle through this morning, and it appears the pattern for the next week will bring more rain to our lands. 

Google satellite imagery in Maps and Earth clearly shows the vineyard up the hill from the house. All the other structures are now visible as well. Amazing technology advances. 

Weather Station Reports from Newport Furnace

Date	Rainfall (mm)	Max Temp (°C)	Min Temp (°C)	Grass Min Temp (°C)	Mean Wind Speed (knots)	Max Gust (>= 34 knots)	Sunshine (hours)
25/07/2026	11.3	20.7	14.7	14.6	9.4

It's raining!

 

We awoke to raindrops on the windows. Alex had sprinkles coming in through the open window. It's been so long since we had any rain that it felt strange. Ghostie was running around and crying, "It's wet out there". Hallelujah, is my response! 

I am finally able to access the monthly climate data on my phone, but I cannot copy it. Newport had 143.6 mm of rain in June compared with 153.8 last year and 93.6 mm LTA. July so far has had 21.2 mm rain in Newport Furnace, but I'm sure we haven't had it here in Kilmeena. It has been weeks since we've had any rain. The lawn has not needed mowing in weeks. 

The mean temp for June was 14.7C compared with 14.9C for last year and 14.2C LTA. 

Is this the new pattern for a very wet winter and spring, with drought in the summer?  It seems likely.