A chronicle of our preposterous journey to grow wine grapes and make wine in the west of Ireland, where the mountains come down to the sea along the Wild Atlantic Way.
Saturday, 25 May 2019
Irrigation of vineyards
Being just a tad paranoid about this prolonged lack of rain (although we had small amounts overnight the last few nights), I did a little research. I unearthed (pun intended) a study in Galicia that investigated if there was a benefit to irrigation of Albariño vines. Their conclusion: no economic benefit and some detriment to the product.
"As a consequence, gross incomes were not significantly increased by irrigation. The results obtained in this study provide useful information for saving water in agriculture, suggesting that irrigation is not a viable agricultural practice under the conditions of this trial."
https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/63
Friday, 24 May 2019
Equipment has arrived
We have a decent supply of equipment for home brewing and winemaking available right here in the west of Ireland in Galway. The order I placed arrived in two days. Amazing.
Thursday, 23 May 2019
It's starting to look like a vineyard
Pergola completed, Alex took to cutting the grass. We've had trouble with the petrol-powered scythe; it would start fine and then cut out. The carburettor was clean, but it was obviously a fuel supply issue elsewhere. So the local fix-it guy suggested a new carburettor which Alex ordered from somewhere far away. Meanwhile, he noticed that the fuel line had a small filter. So he replaced it. Presto bingo it's working fine. So we'll have a spare carburettor when that arrives. Now, just a few more rows to mow and I can clear around the vines.
Monday, 20 May 2019
Spring work is nearing completion
Alex has almost completed the overhead pergola construction under the first 10 vines that reach 5 years of age this year. A few days ago, he cemented in the major support posts. On Saturday, he installed the cross poles. Very elegantly bent to shape so the tractor-that-we-do-not-yet-have can get around the corner.
Saturday, 18 May 2019
Soil composition or association
Teagasc has analyzed the soil of Ireland and reported it on a website for anyone to access. This is what multiple samples in our region turned up:
Modern definition: Fine loamy drift with siliceous stones
Texture: Fine loamy
Substrate type: drift with siliceous stones
Substrate 1: drift
Substrate 2: siliceous stones
Friday, 17 May 2019
White Varietals and Choices
Thursday, 16 May 2019
History of winemaking in Ireland
Particularly interesting was a reference to a study on The Feasibility of Ireland Becoming a Wine Producing Country Due To Climate Change published by the AcademicWino and written by James McWalter. His original blog post on his site no longer exists. He projects what will happen by 2030 and 2050 based on a metanalysis of the effects of climate change and suggests that Wexford is the place to watch for.
There's also a link to a Wine Goose Chase one-woman show about Ireland's role in the world of wine. We'll have to watch out for that, too.
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