Rain falling down on me

We had more than 29 mm of rain yesterday. It was bucketing all day. Fortunately, I had a lovely 71st birthday the day before. Today was spectacularly gorgeous, and we had a nice lunch in town by the Clock Tower with a visitor to Westport, a friend of a friend. Right now, our weather is ideal. A day of rain followed by several days of sunshine. Temperatures are hovering around 20C during the day. 

On the continent, the weather has been abysmal. An unprecedented heat wave is smothering many countries. France, Spain and Portugal are dealing with an extreme heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 40°C plus in many regions. A deadly “heat dome” has descended on Europe, with one tourist dead, wildfires melting roads in Italy, and temperatures in Spain expected to hit 47°C this weekend. Much of Europe has been experiencing drought since April. They say much of Spain is heading for desertification. 

Climate change makes these heatwave events up to 10x more likely. This is not normal, this is not "summer" - the global thermostat is being turned up rapidly.  The European heatwave will bring temperatures as much as 10°C to 15°C above average. This is the difference between normal summer heat and a period of particularly high temperatures. The ongoing marine heatwave in the Mediterranean Sea is one of the largest marine anomalies observed globally.

Thankfully, Ireland has been spared this time. Our weather is particularly pleasant at the moment. 

Dark red shows areas more than 5C above the seasonal average

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 30-jun-2025

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2025	105.0	112.4	59.3	102.8	88.2	153.8	n/a						621.5
2024	125.7	197.5	152.5	119.4	48.8	80.7	80.8	257.5	44.1	150.7	143.3	173.7	1574.7
2023	183.2	91.6	188.4	121.1	48.5	77.9	206.8	139.8	142.4	144.7	209.6	293.8	1847.8
2022	98.8	260.4	67.8	84.0	107.0	148.0	59.2	104.1	97.3	233.9	187.5	154.6	1602.6
LTA	166.4	146.6	129.0	98.0	99.2	93.5	111.6	133.0	131.8	153.9	180.9	190.7	1634.6

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2025	6.0	7.1	8.9	11.6	14.0	14.9	n/a						10.4
2024	6.1	7.9	7.9	9.9	13.1	12.9	14.9	14.9	13.6	11.8	9.2	8.2	10.9
2023	6.6	8.0	7.6	9.9	13.3	17.4	14.9	15.8	15.2	11.9	8.7	7.9	11.4
2022	7.2	7.1	8.0	9.9	12.6	13.8	15.9	16.2	n/a	12.2	9.4	5.2	10.7
LTA	6.3	6.4	7.5	9.5	12.0	14.2	15.5	15.5	13.8	11.1	8.5	6.7	10.6

Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2025	5.1	6.0	8.1	10.9	15.4	16.3	n/a						10.3
2024	4.2	6.5	6.5	9.5	13.6	14.4	15.8	15.4	13.7	11.2	8.9	7.2	10.6
2023	5.2	6.8	6.6	9.1	13.7	18.6	16.3	16.3	14.7	11.1	7.6	6.7	11.1
2022	6.2	6.2	6.3	9.3	13.2	14.8	16.8	16.6	n/a	11.5	8.4	4.4	10.4
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

Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm² for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2025	7308	11955	25430	44615	64505	45465	n/a						199278
2024	7248	12401	23032	39685	47333	50366	49632	38203	31451	16628	6586	4121	326686
2023	6245	10639	21429	37277	55732	58473	41797	36857	29338	16225	8326	4411	326749
2022	6311	10756	33399	40555	51569	47246	48439	51169	n/a	15988	7869	6167	319468
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
2025	12.9	22.0	39.5	70.1	100.3	76.4	n/a						321.2
2024	15.4	18.2	36.0	56.9	74.7	76.7	80.9	60.8	49.0	27.6	14.2	15.6	526.0
2023	14.3	20.9	33.0	56.4	83.3	100.6	70.1	64.4	50.1	26.1	14.2	14.7	548.1
2022	13.7	23.0	47.2	60.6	77.7	76.0	80.4	82.0	n/a	27.2	17.2	9.2	514.2
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
2025	17.1	30.5	55.3	97.0	139.0	107.8	n/a						446.7
2024	20.2	25.4	51.9	83.7	104.9	109.8	112.6	88.3	67.8	37.5	18.4	20.0	740.5
2023	18.8	28.2	47.6	81.6	118.2	137.1	99.5	89.1	67.8	35.5	18.4	19.0	760.8
2022	17.9	32.4	66.5	86.8	114.5	109.2	111.1	113.2	n/a	37.0	22.0	11.4	722.0
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
2025	294	235	205	132	82	49	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2024	293	221	234	169	91	89	45	41	77	117	191	228	1796
2023	275	210	246	171	85	18	39	26	53	118	203	237	1681
2022	256	234	235	171	97	63	30	28	N/A	103	185	320	N/A

---

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.
To view the Weather Events for Public Works Contracts data, select a station first, then click the link just below the map.

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 29-jun-2025

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2025	105.0	112.4	59.3	102.8	88.2	129.7							597.4
2024	125.7	197.5	152.5	119.4	48.8	80.7	80.8	257.5	44.1	150.7	143.3	173.7	1574.7
2023	183.2	91.6	188.4	121.1	48.5	77.9	206.8	139.8	142.4	144.7	209.6	293.8	1847.8
2022	98.8	260.4	67.8	84.0	107.0	148.0	59.2	104.1	97.3	233.9	187.5	154.6	1602.6
LTA	166.4	146.6	129.0	98.0	99.2	93.5	111.6	133.0	131.8	153.9	180.

US relaxes guidelines on alcohol consumption

 

Dr Laura Catena Reacts to AHA’s Statement on Alcohol. She is a Stanford and Harvard-educated physician and head of one of the most famous wineries in the world. 

Listen to the podcast SipSipHooray 

She spoke about the labelling requirements in Ireland, which is why we will no longer be able to buy Catena Zapata wines. 

The Irish labelling rule now says:

Alcohol causes liver disease and cancer. 

It does not say higher levels of drinking. They are claiming causality, but causality is related to quantity.

"There is no proof that alcohol use by healthy people without enzyme deficiency will cause liver disease."

They also need to state that there's a finding that heart disease is reduced and all-cause mortality is lowered. They are only stating the negative. 

"If they said excess drinking causes harm to health, I'd be happy to include it."

Oregon wine region rocked by ICE enforcement actions

A report in Decanter today tells the story of immigration raids on Oregon vineyards. Moises Sotelo-Casas, a beloved vineyard manager and entrepreneur, was detained outside of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Newberg, about 25 miles outside of Portland. People around the world are outraged by this action against a man who has called the region his home for decades. 

A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $137K for his defence. According to his daughter, his feet were bound in chains and all his possessions were taken from him. Whereas the ICE agents said he had come to the US illegally in 2006 and had a criminal conviction of a DUI, there is no record of the conviction, and he had come to the US in the 1990s. He had taken steps to apply for legal citizenship under the Biden administration.

Sotelo-Casas, who founded Novo Start Vineyard Service last year, is an award-winning vineyard manager. Another case of mistaken identity?  Those masked ICE thugs are the criminals. 

A change of weather

Last week it was hot, sunny and still. This week, it has been wet, dreary and breezy. We had 6.8 mm of rain yesterday for St John's bonfires. Today, we've already had 11.8 mm of rain since midnight. I was awake much of the night with cramps, and it was bucketing rain between 3 and 4 am. Max temperature yesterday was 16.9C - what a change from the mid-20s last week. 

Both Alex and I have felt under the weather the last couple of days, but I was surprised to have tested positive for Covid. We have a few tests left, so I checked out of curiosity. There's a new variant circulating in Britain which is causing "razor throat" in some people, thankfully not us. We both have mild symptoms, mostly GI, respiratory, and head congestion. What memories this has conjured up. Must have been exposed in Matt Molly's last week when it was packed tighter than sardines. Oh well, a few days of rest are welcome. At least we are no longer panicking about exposure and serious consequences. Thank you, Moderna and Pfizer and everyone in the Pharma industry who contributed to the remarkably successful vaccination programme. 

The Atlantic Influence

We introduced Nikki and Reg, OCC friends, to our Solaris 2024. With rich golden hues and definite tones of citrus and elderflower, along with a pleasant hint of salinity, we were all very pleased with the outcome. We produced a very drinkable white wine. 

Impressed by the Albarino wines of Galicia, we knew that the sea would have a significant influence on our terroir. It most certainly has. When those storms blow salt over the land, it has got to flavour the earth and the vines. I have to hose down the house and especially all the windows after every storm or we won't be able to see out. The salinity is a positive selling point. 

Of course, we also sampled our raspberry daiquiris, which have their own special flavours.  And Alex's dry mead is highly drinkable, so we've got the next year sorted. 

Vine pruning

Session number three of our vine pruning workshop at Turlough House was again beneficial. We learned to pluck out the side shoots, remove any tendrils and late clusters, and snip the ends if needed. Then we tied up the vines that had come down from the supports because of the weight of the grapes. 

The grape clusters are quite lovely. We'll have another session in August to remove leaves that are shading the grapes so they can get the full benefit of the sun as they ripen. You could really see the difference before and after.

Andrew gave Alex and me some rooted cuttings of a grape he thinks is a Teinturier, specifically Alicante Bouschet. Teinturier grapes are grapes whose skin, flesh and juice are red in colour due to anthocyanin pigments accumulating within the pulp of the grape berry itself.

Teinturier varieties, while containing a lot of colour, usually make special wines, perhaps due to a higher level of tannins, compounds structurally related to the anthocyanins. Many winemakers blend small volumes of teinturier juices into their wines to boost the colour, without dramatically impacting the taste. Andrew thinks they'd be an excellent complement to our Rondo. In addition, tenteurier grapes are useful in making red wines even when the juice is pressed immediately without the skins. So, a wine made in the rosé style from tenteurier grapes will be red rather than rosé. Grenache is a teinturier varietal. 

Meanwhile, our friends Reg and Vicki Barker from Guernsey stopped in last week on their way up the west coast to Scotland. We opened a bottle of our 2024 Solaris, and they loved it. They are the first people we've shared one of our wines with. There is hope. 

Tenteurier vines. 

Hint hint

 

June is my birthday month. These earrings would be most welcome.  

These aren't too bad either.