Daria's Vineyard gets an Irish Gate

What's an Irish gate? It's a gate to a field without a fence. You see when I wasn't paying attention, Alex removed part of the fence below the vineyard. He had our gardener remove the blackberry patch at the top of the orchard and with it the fence. So the vineyard is no longer fenced-in to the left, only to the right. And, of course, when putting in a gate, why would you align it with the fence on the right when you can align it with the new tensioning post on the left? Right! So we have a freestanding gate that anyone can walk around. 

Meanwhile, the albarino has finally had bud burst. We lost four vines and there are a few iffy ones, but they are alive.  

The Rondo is leafing robustly, the Chardonnay looks grand and the Pinot Noir are all good. Let's now hope for a great season! 

The work on the winemaking shed is proceeding well now and it looks like they'll be pouring concrete this week. That means the crew that will assemble the shed will begin by the end of the week if all proceeds as planned. You can see the dimensions of the shed in the excavated site surrounded by road surface. The maintenance will go 3/4 the way around the shed. The side of the shed will be up against the land. We'll be able to drive straight through in one set of doors and out the other, as well as along the side of the shed. The 'precipice' on the left above 'The Avenue' will be planted with trees that will grow tall to shade the shed and protect it from view. The roof will be green to blend in with the landscape. 

I cannot wait to move stuff in there and out of the house and garage. Hallelujah! 

Albarino bud burst 29-04-2023

Pinot Noir

Chardonnay

Rondo

Grazing sheep in vineyards

Far out. A vineyard in California is raising the height of its vines to enable grazing of sheep year-round. They also think it's going to help mitigate the effects of climate change. The modified trellis system at Halter Ranch will set the cordon height at 60 inches. The drip irrigation line will sit at 36 inches, allowing the sheep to move freely throughout the vineyards. Naturally, what the sheep eat keeps the weeds in control and will also fertilize the soil. 

There's nothing new about using sheep to control the land in a vineyard. What is new is calling it biodynamic farming and introducing biodiversity as a new concept. How did humans ever let monoculture take hold? 

Amazing weather

Rondo is furthest ahead

We have had multiple days of sunny, occasionally windy but generally warm, weather. The vines are coming on very well. Alex spent the day straightening stems, replacing uprights, and pinching buds. He also mowed the vineyard for the first time this season. It really needed it. 

Meanwhile, I am trying to learn more every day, but we've been so busy with commitments that it's been hard to find the time. Now that I have backed off from my OCC commitments and have settled my Ukrainian families in their new homes, I am hoping to have more time for me and my happy place gardens. 

The Albarino vines are mostly alive but not thriving and at least four plants are dead. I will cut shoots from the healthy plants and see if I can replace the ones that died on their own rootstocks. 

Solaris

Chardonnay

Pinot Noir has brown spots on leaves

Albarino still tightly bound

Bud break

In the past few weeks, there have been exciting signs of the arrival of spring in our vineyard. It is the time when grapevines "bleed", a moving sight in the whole of their growth cycle. This "bleeding" is a signal that the period of winter dormancy is over and that the vine is gradually coming back to life. Bleeding marks the start of bud break in vines when the plant re-triggers its activity from its root system.  

Yesterday, there were clear signs of bud break or bud burst on all but the Albarino vines, which remain fairly dormant if they are still alive. I would classify 9 April as the official day for bud break this year. 

In 2022, It occurred on the 7th of April. 

Late bud swell

Rondo today

We have entered the late bud swell with today's exceptionally fine weather, but I wouldn't call it bud burst just yet. The Albarino is not looking too good. 

Chardonnay

Pinot Noir

Solaris

Construction is underway on our 'shed'

Finally, after more than a year of planning and waiting for the builder to be available, the construction of our shed has begun. The parts for the shed were delivered a couple of weeks ago. The digger arrived a few days ago. The road up to the shed was being built this week. 

First, he has to level the land for the foundation and build a road so the big trucks with the cement can get up the hill. This will be the second time we built a road there (I'm still furious at the previous builder who then bulldozed the road after the trucks were done during the initial build.)

Then they build the foundation and start assembling the shed with steel girders, poured concrete walls and corrugated sheeting. I can't wait to be able to move all the crap that's in the garage and the house into the shed. It's been driving me completely mad to be living in such a mess of stuff for the vineyard, the bees and everything else. 

Meanwhile, with the digger here, Alex took advantage and brought up two sections of the dock for our 'tasting platform' area above the vineyard. It's as a scenic picnic area. We're using the old dock that Nadim gave Meike after he bought a new one for the island. It's been falling apart for years. The rest of it will save us a ton of money as the timber will be used to build the loft in the shed. All good. I hope it all works out as planned. 

Andrii, a Ukrainian whose young family is living in Newport but he is staying with us temporarily, was helping Alex. I've been working with the County Council to get them settled together in a house not far from Westport. We got the word today, that they will be getting their house next week. Yippee. Another family will have been accommodated. 

The wettest March on record

According to Met Éireann, March 2023 was provisionally the wettest March on record in Ireland (record length 83 years). This follows the 4th driest February on record last month. The previous wettest March was in 2019. More information appears in the March Climate Statement.

March was unusually wet and dull. Out of 25 synoptic stations, 6 stations had over 200% of their average March rainfall, and 11 had over 150%. After a cool start, most stations had above average temperatures. And despite a forecast for a benign week, it continues to rain daily. 

The climate of Ireland is changing. Consequently, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funded a project to update ‘Climate maps and data to support building design standards in Ireland’. Extreme rainfall events are responsible for major socio-economic impacts. Short-duration and intense localised rainfall events can cause severe flooding. Estimating the return levels of rainfall thresholds for specific periods can inform the design criteria for drainage schemes, sewerage systems, bridges, gutters, and fluvial flood mitigation measures. 

But what will it mean for our vineyards?

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 03-apr-2023

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	183.2	91.6	188.4	5.4									468.6
2022	98.8	260.4	67.8	84.0	107.0	148.0	59.2	104.1	97.3	233.9	187.5	154.6	1602.6
2021	225.6	147.6	141.1	45.6	113.5	64.1	59.7	155.6	137.0	265.7	183.3	186.6	1725.4
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	54.7	164.5	187.9	137.9	153.4	228.0	206.6	232.7	2051.7
LTA	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	6.6	8.0	7.6	8.4									7.4
2022	7.2	7.1	8.0	9.9	12.6	13.8	15.9	16.2	n/a	12.2	9.4	5.2	10.7
2021	5.0	6.7	7.9	9.0	10.4	13.3	17.5	16.4	15.2	11.9	9.3	7.6	10.9
2020	7.2	6.0	6.6	11.0	12.8	13.8	14.4	16.0	13.8	10.5	9.1	6.1	10.6
LTA	6.1	6.1	7.3	9.0	11.5	13.8	15.4	15.4	13.5	10.8	8.3	6.5	10.3

Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	5.2	6.8	6.6	n/a									6.2
2022	6.2	6.2	6.3	9.3	13.2	14.8	16.8	16.6	n/a	11.5	8.4	4.4	10.4
2021	3.6	5.0	6.8	8.2	10.9	14.3	17.9	16.3	15.2	11.3	8.6	6.6	10.4
2020	5.7	4.7	5.4	9.7	13.0	14.8	14.9	16.3	13.7	9.5	8.0	5.1	10.1
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm² for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	6245	10639	21429	2786									41099
2022	6311	10756	33399	40555	51569	47246	48439	51169	n/a	15988	7869	6167	319468
2021	6620	13347	20370	45694	55690	45488	49455	40490	22413	16358	7235	3780	326940
2020	6263	10808	24545	46192	58476	43537	40215	40555	25558	18487	6319	5209	326164
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Potential Evapotranspiration (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	14.3	20.9	33.0	4.4									72.6
2022	13.7	23.0	47.2	60.6	77.7	76.0	80.4	82.0	n/a	27.2	17.2	9.2	514.2
2021	7.6	22.9	30.7	62.9	76.3	70.7	87.8	67.5	38.3	25.1	14.1	14.6	518.5
2020	17.6	21.9	35.0	70.2	91.6	72.9	66.2	66.4	42.7	28.1	13.6	10.4	536.6
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Evaporation (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2023	18.8	28.2	47.6	6.3									100.9
2022	17.9	32.4	66.5	86.8	114.5	109.2	111.1	113.2	n/a	37.0	22.0	11.4	722.0
2021	10.9	32.1	45.4	89.9	111.2	102.0	117.2	93.5	52.1	34.7	18.6	19.1	726.7
2020	22.4	31.9	51.8	98.9	130.8	104.8	94.3	92.7	59.1	38.8	18.1	13.6	757.2
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Degree Days Below 15.5 Degree Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2023	275	210	246	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2022	256	234	235	171	97	63	30	28	N/A	103	185	320	N/A
2021	325	247	236	200	167	79	20	23	40	114	187	245	1883
2020	257	276	275	143	111	73	55	31	71	156	193	291	1935

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Notes on the Data

Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
The ‘LTA’ (referred to within a table) is average for the climatological long-term-average (LTA) reference period 1981-2010.
Data updated daily at Mid-day.