Veraison progressing rapidly

My cousin, Maria, better known as Mishka or Mouse, came to visit from Florida with her daughters Ara and Talia and son-in-law James. It was lovely to spend quality time with them. Naturally, we gave them a tour of the vineyard and gardens, the shed and winery, and the stunning view from the top of the property. In the morning it had rained heavily, but then it magically cleared up and we had plenty of time to explore and meet the donkeys, too.

It was disconcerting to see the Rondo grapes turning red so quickly. The first one just days ago, and many clusters yesterday. So we scrambled today and got the kites flying, the CDs hung and the bags initiated. Lots of work coming in the next few days as many more CDs and nets need to be hung in a hurry. 

The Solaris appear to be far behind the Rondo and the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir far behind those again. Very strange season. 

As we attempted to drive the Wild Atlantic Drive around Achill Island with our entourage, the skies opened up just as the forecast suggested clearing. We drove back to Nevin's and had tea and coffee, saw the robot, and awaited the sunshine, which duly arrived. We then continued on to an exquisite tour of Achill and lunch at the Beehive, which the Americans thoroughly enjoyed. 

Overnight we had deluges of rain followed by a day of exquisite sunshine. Thank the Lord for the reprieve. 

 

NOAA State of the Climate Report

 

NOAA has released the report on the state of the climate in 2023 and it is not encouraging. 

Highlights

• Earth’s greenhouse gas concentrations were the highest on record.
• Record temperatures notable across the globe.
• El Niño conditions contributed to record-high sea surface temperatures.
• Ocean heat and global sea level were the highest on record.
• Heatwaves and droughts contributed to massive wildfires around the world.
• The Arctic was warm and navigable.
• Antarctica sea ice sets record lows throughout 2023.
• Tropical cyclone activity was below average, but storms still set records around the globe.

Greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and oceans, global sea level and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2023, according to the 34th annual State of the Climate report.

Veraison has begun

 

We were surprised yesterday when showing a friend the vineyard that veraison has begun. The grapes are tiny, but the clusters are substantial and ripening is indeed underway. We are getting a lot of rain this week, so I hope the grapes will continue to grow for the next 2-3 weeks without becoming significantly diluted. 

The leaves of the Pinot Noir have also started turning, indicating the end of another season. The Pinot grapes are even smaller than the Rondo. 

International Terroir Congress

 

I just learned that the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto passed us sometime during the night and I missed it. The wind was gusting to 91 kmh at Belmullet and Mace Head on the West Coast not far from us. It would have passed square over us around 2 am. This morning was sunny so I visited the donkeys who were fine. We then did a few outdoor chores before the rain started. 

While I work inside today awaiting the arrival of Storm Lillian, which is producing heavy rain but thankfully not much wind for us, I am catching up on my wine reading. 

The 15th International Terroir Congress will gather for the first time in South America, in Mendoza, Argentina, November 18-22, 2024, bridging local wine industry with global terroir science. Oh, how I'd love to attend. The speakers sound brilliant and Dr. Laura Catena is among them and an idol of mine. It's 18-22 November. What a trip that would be. Mendoza. 

Scientific Sessions will cover soil, climate, and plant material and management. There will also be a session on the region's standout Malbec. I've loved Malbec since I first tried it after reading The Vineyard at the End of the World. It's all the stuff I want to learn. 

The Sessions

A | Soil

Innovation in terroir studies

Physical, chemical, and microbiological properties of soils

Soil health indicators

Adaptation to soil through viticultural practices

Performance of rootstocks in different soils

B | Climate

Projections and scenarios of climate change

Climate change impacts

Climate-related challenges and opportunities for viticulture

New technologies to assess climatic parameters

Index and climate characterization

C | Plant material and management

Selection of plant material and management practices in response to climate change projections

Epigenetic mechanisms in grapevine acclimation

Impact of soil and climate change on vines, wine quality and typicity

Adaptation to climate through viticultural practices

Grapevines phenotypic plasticity in response to changing environments

D | Malbec

Historical journey and terroir expression

Studies of Malbec cultivation and winemaking in Argentina and worldwide.

Properties of Malbec wines cultivated in different regions.

Ein joke?

From the Edinburgh Fringe Festival:

I've got a girlfriend who never stops whining. I wish I'd never bought her that vineyard - Roger Swift

I'm so sorry we missed visiting Edinburgh for my 70th birthday. I'll not easily forgive Ryanair for that one. 

Rias Baixas vines destroyed overnight

 

This is the most appalling thing I've read in recent days. On 2 August, vandals cut down centuries-old vines in the Rias Baxias region. With just weeks to go before harvest, they've destroyed a good percentage of this relatively new cooperative's harvest along with the vines' ability to recover.

That has to be a retaliative strike by the competition. Let's hope I'm wrong. 

How their hearts must have sunk to see this vandalism. It's incomprehensible that someone would be so vicious as to destroy ancient living beings. 

Here's their letter to the perpetrators. I hope they get what they deserve. 

Was July the hottest July on record?

It depends on who you ask. NOAA says yes, Copernicus says no. 

NOAA said July 2024 was the 14th consecutive month of record-high global temperatures. The global land-only July temperature was also warmest on record at 1.70°C (3.06°F) above average. The ocean-only temperature was second-warmest at 0.98°C (1.76°F) above average, ending a streak of 15 consecutive monthly record highs from April 2023 to June 2024, according to NOAA. 

According to Copernicus, the daily global average temperature reached 17.16°C and 17.15°C in ERA5 on 22 and 23 July. But July 2024 overall was the second warmest month globally and the second warmest July in the ERA5 data record of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was just 0.04°C lower than the previous high set in July 2023.

The World Meteorological Association summed it up as July was one of the hottest - if not the hottest - month on modern record, and the world’s hottest day was registered. You wouldn't have known it in Ireland. 

At least the SST has not been setting records. But there's a hurricane barreling towards Bermuda and potentially here afterwards. That's a pattern we used to see in the past. 

The strange weather continues

I don't think we've had a day over 20C degrees yet this summer. No desire to go boating. The grapes are languishing. Alex finally got one kite up, after the birds had eaten all of my red currants. :( 

A new tropical depression, 5, has formed in the Atlantic which is forecast to become a cyclone. Its current path takes it through the windwards and up to Bermuda, so it's one to watch. We've had 87 mm of rain in August, and lots of wind, so fairly average so far. 

But the donkeys seem happy and the Olympics are over with Ireland delivering its best performance ever. Such is life in rural Ireland. 

Strange weather

Rondo coming along nicely

It is to be windy and rainy all week. Everything has suddenly taken off, growing like mad even though almost everything is behind. The Rondo grapes are swelling, the Solaris are still tiny as are the Pinot Noir.

We have very little fruit in the orchard this year. All the pears and plums have disappeared. We have a few cooking apples and very few eating apples or even crabapples. At this rate, we'll never be self-sustaining. At least the donkeys seem happy. 

Solaris

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir vines looks unhappy

Donkeys at the top of the hill

A bucket of chanterelle mushrooms gifted to us by Dmytro

Much later than any other year, the mushrooms in the garden have started appearing. That means the land is healthy and the trees are being fed by the mycelium beneath them. Always happy to see fruiting bodies popping up in the garden. Dmytro brought us a bucket of chanterelle mushrooms picked by a Lithuanian friend. I gladly accepted half the bucketful and have been cooking with them for every meal. Chicken marsala, omelette with mushroom stuffing, sauteed mushrooms with seared tuna steak, mushrooms with steak and potatoes with eggs, mushroom soup, and sauteed mushroom packets in the freezer. Thank you, Dmytro. 

Lovely salad

Sauteed chanterelles

By the numbers...

The numbers are in for July and they are weird. We had 80.8 mm of rain, the same as June and less than half of what we had last year. The temp was 14.9C, the same as last year and almost a degree cooler than the long-term average. How very strange, but certainly more welcome than the weather on the continent.

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 31-jul-2024

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2024	125.7	197.5	152.5	119.4	48.8	80.7	80.8	n/a					805.4
2023	183.2	91.6	188.4	121.1	48.5	77.9	206.8	139.8	142.4	144.7	209.6	293.8	1847.8
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
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
2024	6.1	7.9	7.9	9.9	13.1	12.9	14.9	n/a					10.4
2023	6.6	8.0	7.6	9.9	13.3	17.4	14.9	15.8	15.2	11.9	8.7	7.9	11.4
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
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
2024	4.2	6.5	6.5	9.5	13.6	14.4	15.8	n/a					10.1
2023	5.2	6.8	6.6	9.1	13.7	18.6	16.3	16.3	14.7	11.1	7.6	6.7	11.1
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
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
2024	7248	12401	23032	39685	47333	50366	49632	n/a					229697
2023	6245	10639	21429	37277	55732	58473	41797	36857	29338	16225	8326	4411	326749
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
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
2024	15.4	18.2	36.0	56.9	74.7	76.7	80.9	n/a					358.8
2023	14.3	20.9	33.0	56.4	83.3	100.6	70.1	64.4	50.1	26.1	14.2	14.7	548.1
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
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
2024	20.2	25.4	51.9	83.7	104.9	109.8	112.6	n/a					508.5
2023	18.8	28.2	47.6	81.6	118.2	137.1	99.5	89.1	67.8	35.5	18.4	19.0	760.8
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
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
2024	293	221	234	169	91	89	45	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2023	275	210	246	171	85	18	39	26	53	118	203	237	1681
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

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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.
To view the Weather Events for Public Works Contracts data, select a station first, then click the link just below the map.

Open data