New climate science feature

 

You can now see how the temperature has changed over the decades in your region via the new Google Climate Science Center. In County Mayo, that's us, the average annual temperature has, according to NOAA figures, increased by about 1.25 degrees. At this rate, we should reach the Galician average from 1950 very soon or may have already reached it. 

From a paper titled 'State of Climate in NW Iberia' August 2011, Climate Research 48(2-3):109-144:

"It is very likely that both maximum and minimum land temperature have increased at the annual scale
since 1974 at a mean rate on the order of 0.5°C/decade. This behaviour is especially marked for
maximum temperature in spring and summer, and for minimum temperature in spring, summer and
autumn."

It's a good thing we are learning how to make wine. We're gonna need it when the heat hits the fan. 

Visiting Vineyards in Galicia

Diego, Carolina, Maria, and Alex 

We had a fabulous day visiting vineyards that belong to the cooperative of Paco & Lola. Diego is the man in charge of Viticultura for the coop. He visits all the vineyards, manages the disease and pest control, decides when to harvest, and maintains relationships with all the growers. What a delightful and knowledgeable man. He loved that someone was interested in the vines and not just the wines.

Paco & Lola - a truly inspiring coop

We took the opportunity while sailing in Galicia to visit the Paco & Lola vineyards and winery which is only about 6 km from Sanxenxo which has a big marina. We tied Aleria up the night before, had a lovely meal in town with a delicious house Albariño wine, mussels, langoustines and oyster mushrooms fried in a light batter. We had an entertaining young waiter trying out his English to boot. Overall fun.

White Varietals and Choices

Swaths of Albariño vines on pergolas in Galicia

Unusual white varietals are making a comeback. Torrontes, Viognier, and Albariño are being brought back to life from ancient vineyards and making their mark as superb and lighter alternatives to Chardonnay (ABC?).

Weather statistics for Clew Bay, Ireland vs Galicia, Spain

I found a great Norwegian website YR.no that provides weather forecasting and climate statistics for the world. I wanted to compare the climate of the Albarino wine growing region of Galicia with the new wine growing region of Clew Bay. :-) I couldn't find Combados but Combarro gave me a set of statistics for average temperatures and rainfall over a twelve month period for Pontevedra. Similarly, when searching for Clew Bay, I got Belmullet data which is not really us but it was closer and more relevant than Claremorris. Claremorris does, however, come in a couple of degrees warmer than Belmullet, which is out on the Atlantic seaboard, and temperature wise is probably more like us here in Kilmeena. Our average temperature reaches only 15C while their's gets to 20C.

Our trip to Galicia Spain, home of albarino wines

Alex and I spent two months cruising on our boat in the northwest region of Spain this summer. It was a remarkable trip for so many reasons. First, the Rias Baixas in the region south of Finisterre are a superb cruising area, with multiple Rias or inlets that have an interesting coastline, lovely old villages and towns, beautiful barrier islands, the best seafood in the world, temperate weather, and fine wines. Oh, and it's not very expensive.