Viticulture in Ireland

Thursday, 14 April 2022

Climate data for March

We were gone at the end of March so I am now just remembering to report the climate figures. As you can see, we had far less rain than normal for March although it felt like a lot more. Our temperature keeps edging upward and the solar radiation was way high which may account for the early bud burst. Today it has been raining all day. Let's hope it stops for the weekend.

MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 13-APR-2022

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	98.8	260.4	67.8	53.3									480.3
2021	225.6	147.6	141.1	45.6	113.5	64.1	59.7	155.6	137.0	265.7	183.3	186.6	1725.4
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	54.7	164.5	187.9	137.9	153.4	228.0	206.6	232.7	2051.7
2019	146.8	115.0	228.5	100.7	112.5	76.6	82.7	228.9	175.5	160.7	148.1	220.6	1796.6
LTA	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	7.2	7.1	8.0	8.5									7.6
2021	5.0	6.7	7.9	9.0	10.4	13.3	17.5	16.4	15.2	11.9	9.3	7.6	10.9
2020	7.2	6.0	6.6	11.0	12.8	13.8	14.4	16.0	13.8	10.5	9.1	6.1	10.6
2019	6.9	8.4	7.9	10.2	11.7	13.1	16.3	15.5	13.7	10.3	7.1	7.1	10.7
LTA	6.1	6.1	7.3	9.0	11.5	13.8	15.4	15.4	13.5	10.8	8.3	6.5	10.3

Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	6.2	6.2	6.3	n/a									6.2
2021	3.6	5.0	6.8	8.2	10.9	14.3	17.9	16.3	15.2	11.3	8.6	6.6	10.4
2020	5.7	4.7	5.4	9.7	13.0	14.8	14.9	16.3	13.7	9.5	8.0	5.1	10.1
2019	6.1	6.1	6.8	8.9	12.2	13.8	16.7	15.7	13.5	9.4	6.2	5.6	10.1
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm2 for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	6311	10756	33399	14233									64699
2021	6620	13347	20370	45694	55690	45488	49455	40490	22413	16358	7235	3780	326940
2020	6263	10808	24545	46192	58476	43537	40215	40555	25558	18487	6319	5209	326164
2019	5378	10595	21306	37648	49884	49607	45395	37116	26460	17406	8167	4766	313728
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Potential Evapotranspiration (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	13.7	23.0	47.2	20.7									104.6
2021	7.6	22.9	30.7	62.9	76.3	70.7	87.8	67.5	38.3	25.1	14.1	14.6	518.5
2020	17.6	21.9	35.0	70.2	91.6	72.9	66.2	66.4	42.7	28.1	13.6	10.4	536.6
2019	13.4	21.5	35.4	60.4	79.0	78.2	79.5	62.9	42.8	29.2	14.8	14.3	531.4
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Evaporation (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	17.9	32.4	66.5	30.6									147.4
2021	10.9	32.1	45.4	89.9	111.2	102.0	117.2	93.5	52.1	34.7	18.6	19.1	726.7
2020	22.4	31.9	51.8	98.9	130.8	104.8	94.3	92.7	59.1	38.8	18.1	13.6	757.2
2019	17.7	29.5	52.0	87.3	111.6	112.8	109.6	88.8	59.9	39.6	18.9	17.9	745.6
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

DEGREE DAYS BELOW 15.5 DEGREE CELSIUS FOR NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2022	256	234	235	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2021	325	247	236	200	167	79	20	23	40	114	187	245	1883
2020	257	276	275	143	111	73	55	31	71	156	193	291	1935
2019	266	200	235	165	130	89	27	36	67	164	251	262	1892

Notes on the Data

Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
The ‘LTA’ (referred to within a table) is average for the climatological long-term-average (LTA) reference period 1981-2010.
Data updated daily at Mid-day.

OPEN DATA

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

What a day for a bud burst!

Magical Clew Bay

It's gorgeous out at the moment. We're just getting over Covid, and it's a perfect spring day. I was able to walk to the top of the farm without a problem, so I'd say I'm pretty clear of debilitating symptoms. Ghosty walked all the way up with me without complaining. She loves this weather, too. Her whiteness really stands out up here. The northerly gales we had this year really did a number on the shrubs at the top and most of the gorse died back. I'm glad the vineyard is south facing and protected.

On the way down, I inspected the vines and noted bud burst on both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but not on the Albarino. I was, however, gratified to see that most of the Albarino vines seem to be alive. Why they are so slow to get going I don't know.

Pinot Noir

Chardonnay

Albarino

6 yo Solaris

6 yo Rondo

4 yo Solaris

The orchard has come alive, too, with the pears and cherries in bloom. The apples, plum and peach are just starting to think about it. But the fruit trees in the polytunnel are cranking. I'll have three peaches this year, and a mango finally germinated! Very weird-looking plant. The avocado is growing well, the second peach and the apple are flourishing, and the lemon and orange trees are flowering like crazy. The kiwis are growing fast as is the grapevine. Can't wait. So promising.

Maggie

Fogbank in the distance

Thursday, 7 April 2022

See the USA...

Rondo bud break

We took our first trip to the US in several years last week. Bizarre travelling again. Just 7 days but packed with activities, including renewing my US driving license, fixing a bank account's data and seeing the cherry trees in bloom in DC.

Upon return, one of the first things I did was water in the polytunnel and check the vineyard. I was astounded at the changes since we left, despite some rather cold and blustery weather, with F11 wind last night. We flew in with 40-knot gusts buffeting the place but the pilots did very well.

Bud burst with the Rondo is well underway. The Solaris is slightly behind, with the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir trailing well behind and the Albarino looking sickly.