Knowing when to pick grapes

Here we are in late August and the red grapes have started turning red. I've been tasting one every few days to get the hang of it, but they are still quite sour. Grapes generally ripen between late August and late October, depending on the variety. As they will not ripen any further once they have been picked from the vine, they need to be picked only when they are ripe. This can be tricky. In cooler climates it can take longer to get to the required sweetness. We are keeping an eye on bird activity in the vineyard as the birds are always first in line for sweet fruit. We expect to receive an alert from Mother Nature that the grapes are ripe.

Westernmost vineyard in Europe

Casal Santa Maria vineyards in Portugal

We wanted to claim the title of the westernmost vineyard in Europe given that we're the only vineyard we know of on the west coast of Ireland or Scotland. But we were recently reminded that the Azores are part of Europe and so are the Madeiras. There goes that claim. Their vino verde and fortified port and Madeira wines qualify for that claim. Oh well. We'll find another accolade to usurp. Perhaps Westernmost Vineyard in Continental Europe?

Controlling the fungus among us

Image from Wikimedia Commons

We have always wondered why there are rose bushes planted at the ends of rows in vineyards. Now that we have a vineyard, it prompted us to look into it. And what we learned makes sense. Roses and grapes are both susceptible to some of the same fungal diseases, namely powdery mildew and downy mildew. Roses, in fact, act as an early warning signal for mildew. They help the vintner catch the diseases at an early stage so proper treatment can be applied. In other words, they help to control the fungus among us. I also came across a curious alt truth story from Australia.

About Albariño

Most Vitis vinifera cultivars are hardy in Zones 6 or 7, meaning healthy vines can survive temperatures from zero to minus 10°F. The European Union has grouped wine production not by hardiness but by three major categories: A, B and C with C subdivided into four subregions. Zone A is the coldest and it's where Ireland would fall into. Zone C is the warmest and C I and C II is where northern Spain fits.

The orchard below the vineyard

The orchard is doing well, too. For the first time this year, we have fruit on every tree. We missed the cherries and gooseberries, but we have apples, crabapples, pears, and plums. The peach tree died last year.

What a difference a week makes

We arrived back in Ireland on the 28th of July having spent June and July on our boat sailing the Iberian peninsula from Galicia in Spain to the Algarve in Portugal and back. It was the sunniest, driest summer in Ireland while we were gone. There were days when the temperature reached 30 degrees we were told, and a drought had parched the land. Indeed, when we returned, Ireland had its first rainfall in months and the grass was brown and dry. The house sitter did not water in the vineyard. Naturally, it's been raining and cold since we returned, but that's another story.

The grapevines seemed to like the weather. They are fruiting profusely. Although the grapes are small, there are plenty of them for the first time since we planted the original vines five years ago. All of the new vines survived the drought without watering, too. Some even have grapes in their second year. They weren't told they weren't supposed to fruit yet.

Storm Hector tore through Ireland last night

The vicious storm brought winds of 90 km/hr, the highest tides in living memory, and left 35,000 without power. That means salt spray would have doused the vineyard. We're not there to survey the damage, but our neighbours have posted pictures of their leveled gardens. We shall see. In any case we shall rely on our superpowers to restore all.

Seen at a restaurant in Lisbon. 

With translation...