Brix increasing in Rondo

I re-tested the red Rondo grapes and got consistent readings of 17. I tried testing the Solaris but got nothing. The Chardonnay grapes don't appear to be anywhere near veraison although it's hard for the untrained eye to discern veraison in white grapes. 

It's hot again today, forecast to reach 18C, but it's much hotter than that in the sun. There has been little rainfall, but we're expecting potentially heavy rain tomorrow and daily for the next week. The Pinot Noir vines are showing stress (yellow leaves) and the Albarino is stunted in growth again. I'm afraid that when the rain does come, it will shock the grapes and dilute the juices which at the moment are delicious and concentrated. 

Rondo getting close

Pinot Noir nowhere near

Chardonnay vines showing effects of drought 

Albarino stunted

7 yo vines doing just fine

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 31-aug-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	84.0	107.0	148.0	59.2	104.1	n/a				929.3
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	9.9	12.6	13.8	15.9	16.2	n/a				11.4
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	9.3	13.2	14.8	16.8	16.6	n/a				11.2
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	40555	51569	47246	48439	51169	n/a				289444
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	60.6	77.7	76.0	80.4	82.0	n/a				460.6
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	86.8	114.5	109.2	111.1	113.2	n/a				651.6
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	171	97	63	30	28	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

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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

Cumulative Rainfall Graphs

Temperature Departures from LTA

Grape testing

I tested a bunch of grapes that had turned deep red and got a Brix reading of 14. Since the optimal sugar content for red wine is Brix 22, we have a little time left before we harvest. I will take readings every other day for the next week and daily after that. 

The white grapes seem far behind the red Rondo. The photo coming up is of Chardonnay. Brix should reach 20 if it's to be wine. Not sure what will happen. 

The next two are Solaris. They are on the younger vines. The older vines didn't do much. Weird. But it's possible veraison has begun there. I will test them next time, but there won't be much of a harvest. 

The two coming up are Pinot Noir. Some of the vines seems to be infected with something - looks like powdery mildew to me. Others look fine. There are no Albarino grapes coming. 

The roses in the garden are all looking good, so we don't have a major fungal intrusion. 

This page is really good at helping to identify problems. 

The apple harvest is underway and the donkeys are loving the periodic small apple donations. It's a good year for apples. But we've lost our pear trees to disease. It's also our first harvest of hazelnuts. I am so excited. They were on  the younger of the two trees. Go figure. 

We have loads of Rondo grapes on the 5 vines we planted early on. Better start learning how to make wine. 

Studying winemaking

I just found the perfect course for me, a MSc in Sustainable Viticulture and Oenology. It's exactly what I would have wanted to study. But it's in Milan, which would be okay except I don't live in Italy, I live in Ireland. Can you imagine studying with 21-year-olds at 68? Yes, I can. But I cannot just move to Italy for two years. 

I have written to them to ask if they have a distance learning option or at least a combination option whereby I could go for short period of in-person with online study in between. As we have flights to Milan from Knock, I could be a commuter student. 

I satisfy the entrance criteria as I speak English and have a bachelor's degree in Biology. How cool would that be?

I think this could potentially get me out of my funk. I have lost interest in everything else including writing and sailing. Is this my next iteration?

When to harvest?

The busiest and most crucial period in our vineyard has begun. I have seen grapes changing colour and so veraison is underway. But how do we know when is the optimal time to pick? And what should we be doing now to prepare for harvest?  

Most winegrowers in addition to the obvious signs, their “instinct”, and the interest of wild animals especially birds, also take into account measurements of sugar, tartaric acid (TA) as well as the pH of the grapes. Since these measurements differ for different varieties and the micro-climate of each vineyard, each winegrape grower should know her ripe grapes' optimal values. According to some literature, the optimal levels for red wines are Brix: 22, TA: 0.75, pH: 3,4; and for the white grapes Brix: 20, TA: 0.7 and pH: 3.2. This I will have to develop as I monitor annual harvests. Eventually, I'll need to buy a pH and TA tester. 

I have not tested before and, as a result, we lost our first tiny harvest to birds, our second harvest was spot on and our third harvest was too early. So I finally bought a refractometer, one of the most common tools for winegrowers to measure the amount of sugar in the grapes. I have used it to measure the sugar content at the various stages of wine maturation and it's pretty easy. What I need to do is start measuring now so that I have an indicator of increasing sugar content. Here's a good article to refresh knowledge about how to read a refractometer and more. 

Aside from monitoring grape ripeness, I will also be monitoring the weather and the appearance of diseases and pests. Botrytis becomes especially problematic after the grapes attain 8% sugar content. As we are an organic and natural vineyard without use of pesticides or other chemicals, I will have to remove anything that is affected immediately. That requires daily vigilance in the vineyard from now until harvest. 

I'll have to prepare all the tools and equipment as well and clear space for working. We really need a shed for the winemaking, as we've outgrown the house. 

Meanwhile, Spain has reported its earliest harvest ever. 

Carlsberg reveals new fiber bottle

Danish beer maker, Carlsberg, has been working with partner Avantium to create a bio-based fibre bottle that is fully recyclable and produces 80% less CO2 than a disposable glass bottle. They introduced their new bottle at SailGP to get input from thirsty sailors. They say it would decompose completely in compost within a year. 

I'm not sure I'd want to drink from the bottle, given that I really dislike the texture of paper straws. And I'm not sure how it would work for wine, but I imagine you could make interesting surface designs and perhaps even print the bottle completely. You cannot see the liquid within, which I'd say could be a detriment for wine lovers. Yet, to reduce carbon footprint, not only in the manufacture of glass but also I imagine in lower transport costs, might outweigh any negatives. 

I applaud the effort. 

New climate science feature

 

You can now see how the temperature has changed over the decades in your region via the new Google Climate Science Center. In County Mayo, that's us, the average annual temperature has, according to NOAA figures, increased by about 1.25 degrees. At this rate, we should reach the Galician average from 1950 very soon or may have already reached it. 

From a paper titled 'State of Climate in NW Iberia' August 2011, Climate Research 48(2-3):109-144:

"It is very likely that both maximum and minimum land temperature have increased at the annual scale
since 1974 at a mean rate on the order of 0.5°C/decade. This behaviour is especially marked for
maximum temperature in spring and summer, and for minimum temperature in spring, summer and
autumn."

It's a good thing we are learning how to make wine. We're gonna need it when the heat hits the fan.