Grape expectations

If you recall last year, we decided on the 14th of September that the grapes needed one more day to sweeten. On the 15th they were gone. We assumed the birds had taken them. We vowed to protect them the following year. 

So this year, we set a calendar alert to remind us to be vigilant around the 14th of September. Alex bought a kite that looks like a raptor which is supposed to chase birds away. Except he tested it in the vegetable garden and it flew rather erratically in our erratic climate conditions. He gave up. 

On the 13th, we determined the grapes were not yet ready. On the 14th, we had torrential rain all day. A friend stopped by and Alex took him up to the vineyard in the rain to admire the vines and the grapes. It was about 1 pm and the grapes were impressive. It was too wet to harvest so we decided to wait one more day. There was no evidence of birds in the vineyard and the cats were making themselves quite visible there.  

On the 15th, a beautiful sunny morning, I took my basket and sheers and went to harvest the grapes. You guessed it, they were gone. All the ripe grapes were gone. A few unripe ones were left behind. I couldn't believe it. All gone. I chided the three cats who accompanied me to the vineyard for sleeping on the job. I found one the culprits missed and tasted it. It was juicy and sweet but small. We would have had to photograph our harvest in a very small basket to make it look more substantial. But now all we have are the empty stalks. 

Next year, a scarecrow, netting, and 24-hour watch schedule. They're not getting in the way of our grape expectations again!

Post-Hurricane Grapedom

Dorian came and went dropping lots of rains but sparing us the winds that the Bahamas and North America experienced. We had little damage, only some overturned and displaced items around the yard.

The grapes have gotten bigger as a result of the rain, and they are turning red quickly now, but are still not sweet enough. There are no white grapes on the Solaris vines that I could find, only red grapes on the Rondo vines. This is completely contrary to last year. Harvest in about a week.

We won't have enough to attempt wine but it's still fun to watch over them and ponder 'What if?'

Hurricanes

Hurricane Dorian devastated the Abacos and Grand Bahama when he stalled there for almost 2 days as a category 5 storm just over a week ago, then skirted the coast of the states before making landfall again in Nova Scotia as a category 2. Now he's made it across the Atlantic. Thankfully, he's no longer a hurricane but he's still packing a lot of water.

We're expecting two extratropical storms, Dorian and Gabrielle, this week, and the effects have already begun. Light rain and wind expected this afternoon with heavy rain overnight and again on Thursday. What will this do to grapes that are ripening about a week before harvest?

I hope the donkeys don't get swept away.

Veraison: grapes turning red!

The Rondo grapes are turning red

One of the most important moments in a grapevine’s annual lifecycle is the onset of ripening of its fruit. In viticulture, the grapes actually visually signal that onset of ripening in a transition called veraison (“verr-ray-zun”). It's when red varietal grapes turn from green to red and begin to sweeten naturally. The term was originally French but has been adopted into English use. The official definition of veraison is a change of colour of grape berries. Veraison also occurs in white grapes but without changing colour – white grapes simply become more translucent.

Veraison typically begins at the end of July in the northern hemisphere. It didn't begin here until the end of August. But we didn't have such great weather this summer. 

During veraison, chemical changes take place inside the grapes. The green chlorophyll is replaced by carotenoids in white grapes turning them more golden or purplish anthocyanins in red grapes. They become filled with glucose, fructose and aromatics. 

The acidity decreases while sweetness increases until they reach the perfect balance for harvesting. The veraison period also signals to viticulturists when to trim their vines, prepare for pests and birds, and keep an eye on the clusters, as some can change colour unevenly, like ours are doing now.

As it appears that year 5 is not the bumper year we were hoping for, we will watch and learn and set our sights on year 6, when the experts say the really good things begin to happen. Only the Rondo vines produced grapes this year. There are few if any grapes set on the white Solaris grapevines. A bit disappointing after the nice performance last year. 

They are ripening unevenly

The vineyard is looking vinyardy.

3-yo Chardonnay vines are looking good

1-yo Pinot noir

1-yo Albarino all alive and well

Two weeks and what a difference

Rondo grapes

In the last two weeks*, we've had an unusual pattern of weather when a low centred itself over Ireland, specifically over Dingle, and vacillated back and forth over the island creating heavy rains and strong winds North and South, and a changeable pattern over us. We went from rain showers to sunshine several times a day, and the grapes responded. They've started to swell and the vines have started to grow.

Tomorrow I will stake myself in the vineyard with my secateurs and start trimming away the leaves obscuring the bunches and the stray shoots whilst securing the main shoots to the overhead trellises. We do love the trellises, walking under them and gazing up into the sunlit leaves and grapes. For some reason, the red vines are more productive than the white vines. But there is still time and hope.

The arbour

More Rondo

Solaris grapes

*This was supposed to be published two weeks ago but I forgot to press Publish after saving.