Not quite

We were planning to harvest today. There are birds stealing grapes daily. We had to wait until the afternoon as we had heavy rain in the morning and other responsibilities.

But Alex did something to his back and he's in agony. So I went up to start picking on my own, but I realised they are not ready yet. Perhaps tomorrow, if the birds don't pre-empt us. 

Alex hung old CDs in the vineyard to keep the birds away. I brought in one of my herons to stand guard. The bags we tied on last year worked well but were such a pain to put on and take off.  We'll take our chances for one more day. 

There are many red Rondo to pick and far fewer white Solaris. But the Solaris are very tasty. Next year, we should have more. 

Here are a few inventive ways of protecting grapes from birds. 

Veraison underway!

Lo and behold, veraison, the changing of berry colour, is underway. The Ronda grapes are looking fine. Bigger than last year already and already turning a lovely red.

The Solaris are once again disappointing. Some have formed grapes, others withered into tiny black balls. Alex thinks they were not pollinated and wants to move a hive into the vineyard. But as grapes are self-pollinating, will that help. 

Anyway, it's looking promising, or more like hopeful. Just this drasted drought getting in the way. 

The vines are growing

Looking neater

Suddenly, everything started growing exponentially. The mild temperatures, gentle rain, and light winds produced ideal conditions. The vines shot up and out making it difficult for Alex to mow. When I started tying the vines up to the supports, I found two issues: 

1. Some of the heavier vines, mostly 4-year-old Solaris, had broken the top tape that was holding them to the supports and were drooping in half. Fortunately, none had broken. 
2. The electrical tape we were using had killed the primary shoots on the newer vines (Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Albarino) from the area of the tape down to the stock. 

Dead primaries killed by tape

I knew the Albarino were not doing as well as the others and was disappointed, but I had not noticed that the shoots we had taped to the supports had actually died. The remaining vines were stressed and therefore stunted. Three Albarinos and three Chardonnays were completely dead. 

I next cut up strips of nylon stockings to tie the vines with. That's a trick I learned from the woman I bought our first house from. It was a great way to reuse something that had reached its life limit. They are soft and stretchy. 

As I tied up the vines with the new strips of stockings, I removed the tape and excised the dead wood. I am very sad that we were actually killing the vines without realising it. I hope they can recover. We need to get those overhead trellises built. 

Surprise! Tiny Pinot noir grapes on one vine. 

Solaris grapes getting plumper

The audience

Friends getting a tour

Bud burst

Rondo bud burst

I've been checking daily as our weather has been extraordinary for the past week. Yet today, it was bitterly cold, with sleet and hail showers every time I tried to go outside. I finally managed to get out when the wind died down a bit. Lo and behold, the Rondo has bud burst. That's 11 days earlier than last year, at least for the Rondo. 

Unlike last year, when all the varietals had bud burst on the same day, this year it's only one. The Solaris is close and the others still have a way to go. The good news is that, although the buds are tiny on the Albarino vines, all but 2 or 3 plants have buds and are alive. Halleluja!

Solaris is close - only one bud that I noticed this advanced.

Chardonnay not there yet

Pinot noir getting ready

Bitterly cold today

Wine tasting

 
For Easter, Alex uncorked one of our precious bottles of nectar from the Rondo vines. There was quite a bit of sediment, but we don't mind having grown up on French wines. The clarity was good, the colour was deep, the nose was fragrant and so we dared to sip. Blackberries! Not too sweet, high alcohol content, fruity nose -- altogether drinkable. Our first attempt was not toxic. We were both pleasantly surprised. 

The wine actually paired well with the first course of devil-dipped quail eggs, main course of lamb and dessert of apple cake. It actually wasn't that different from a premium Rioja I had uncorked before I knew what Alex was up to. It's almost exactly 6 months since we bottled. With more time, it might mellow even more. But for two novices to have created a wine that we didn't have to spit out was a major accomplishment. 

Happy Easter!

Getting close to bud burst awfully early

Snow (#sniachta) on Croagh Patrick, bees active in the hive, cat climbing trees, vineyard coming to life. Things are happening in County Mayo. Disappointingly, the Albarino are the only vines that don't look good. 

Snow on Croagh Patrick

Beehive with thyme growing below to discourage varroa and Ghost

Cat in favourite tree

Native black honeybee

Rondo

Rondo

Solaris

Chardonnay

Solaris

Solaris

Solaris

Pinot noir

Albarino

A live looking Albarino vine

 

Native black honeybee