Vineyard cats

Her Ghostliness getting a better view. 

Every day, Ghost and I visit the vineyard to see what has come alive. We are eagerly awaiting bud burst of the final varietal, Albarino. Sometimes, Cinco and or Louise come along as well, meandering through the tall grass. 

So far, the bud burst has been remarkably early compared with last year. Here's the score:

• CHARDONNAY: 13/4/2021
• SOLARIS: 9/4/2021
• PINOT NOIR: 7/4/2021
• RONDO: 5/4/2021

I've been dutifully reporting it on the UK Vineyards Report only to learn that they are not tracking it this year. Oh well. 

Louise and Ghost on patrol

Cinco likes to just hang out

Today, Solaris has burst

 

Today, multiple buds on multiple Solaris vines have burst into action. I do not understand it as it's been quite cold. What is it that triggers bud burst if not temperature? I hope we don't have to resort to frost mitigation. 

No sign of activity on Chardonnay or Albarino vines yet. And the albarino has the tiniest of buds. 

Still waiting for Albarino bud burst

Maybe we'll try tequila next

We have been growing agaves indoors and some have become huge. One I left outside over the winter this year as I was getting tired of lugging it in and out and it was just getting too big, like 'little shop of horrors'. Alex's mom had a giant one in the greenhouse which we donated to one of the gardeners at Bloom last year. I had not realised that tequila or mezcal are made from the agave plant or I wouldn't have been giving them away. 

So now that the agave has been planted in the garden, and I have several potted plants with many babies, perhaps climate change will mean we can harvest the heart of the agaves we grow and make tequila, too. Just saying. No waste!

And there are more in the greenhouse. How many agaves does it take to make a bottle of tequila? Looks like I have some morning learning to do. 

Pinot Noir second to burst

 

Alex took a photo of our first bud burst among the Pinot Noir vines yesterday. It's not leafy yet and given that it's a cold week, I'm really surprised. Curiously, last year we had bud burst on all the varietals on the same day. This year not so. I think the Pinot will do well for us. 

I reported the bud burst to the UK Vineyard Report and noticed that they want reports at every stage. We only reported bud burst last year. This year, I'll have to record and report bud burst, frost, flowering, veraison, harvest and end of season. My little contribution to monitoring climate change. 

Weather yesterday 7-4-21

Station             Rain Max     Min Sun Wind

Newport Furnace 2.1 12.7     2.7 6.2 (11)

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!

More vineyards in Ireland

The Journal.ie reported on the vineyards producing the nectar of the gods in the land of Guinness in 2015. They covered some of the more well-known vineyards. UK Vineyard report lists a few more, including ours - Daria's Vineyard. Ireland has a drop in the bucket compared with the UK nowadays. Last year, we recorded bud burst on the 15th of April. 

• Lusca Vineyard - Dublin
• Wellingtonbridge Vineyard - Wexford
• Viking Irish Drinks (Dennison's Vyd) - Waterford
• Ballydrehid House Estate Vineyard - Tipperary
• Watergrass Vineyard - Cork
• Daria's Vineyard - Mayo

We report bud burst to them, but not yet. I checked today and, although the Rondo is getting close, I wouldn't call burst just yet. I'd say we are at late bud swell. The good news is that it appears that the Albarino vines are alive. They really did appear dead a couple of weeks ago but now they have fresh-looking buds. Yippee!

By the way, our honey bees have been very active. I expect the orchard and vineyard to bear lots of fruit this year. Although grapevines are hermaphroditic and self-pollinate, bees are very important in maintaining a healthy organic ecosystem in the vineyard. Many people don't realise just how important they can be. Of course, they can also go after the sweet juices of the grapes if their foraging isn't supported otherwise. If we practice organic biodynamic husbandry, then everything should maintain its equilibrium. 

Rondo

Solaris

Chardonnay

Pinot noir

Albarino

Happy St. Daria's Day by the Julian Calendar. Alex says it's fitting that my name day should come on April Fool's Day!

Native black honeybee