Hottest summer on record

 

Met Éireann has reported that the summer of 2026 was the hottest on record, 2.03 °C above the 1961-1990 long-term average (LTA) and 1.50 °C above the more recent 1999-2020 LTA. Six of the ten hottest summers have occurred since 2001, while provisional rainfall data also show summer 2026 was drier than average. 

Meanwhile, iconic French cheeses are threatened as climate change affects the grass that feeds the cattle that produce the milk. Apparently, cheese is as tightly controlled as wine appellations. If the farmers can't meet the requirements, they won't be able to label their cheeses as authentic. 

Winemakers are facing a similar situation. France's 2026 yield is down significantly because of climate conditions. 

AI Overview

French wine appellations are facing severe yield drops, with 2026 production plunging to a near 30-year low of 33.9 million hectolitres due to intense summer heatwaves and droughts. A hectolitre equals 100 litres. [1, 2, 3]

Declining Harvests and Yields

Lower volume: Production dropped 17% below the 2021–2025 average.
Regional damage: Champagne output was cut in half during the scorching 2026 summer.
Extreme weather: Repeated droughts, spring frosts, and heavy rains damage vines before harvest. [1, 2, 3]

Shifts in Harvest Timing and Wine Style

Earlier picking: Grapes ripen much faster. Harvests now start weeks or even a full month ahead of historical schedules.
Higher alcohol: Faster ripening creates more sugar in the fruit, which raises the final alcohol level in the bottle.
Loss of traditional taste: Rapid ripening changes the classic flavor balance that traditional appellation rules were built to protect. [1, 2]

Pressures on Appellation Rules

Rigid laws: Appellation rules (known as AOC or AOP) strictly dictate where grapes grow, how they are farmed, and what varieties winemakers can use.
Rule updates: Bordeaux updated its laws to allow seven new heat-resistant grape varieties, though use is strictly capped at 5% of a vineyard.
Leaving appellations: Some elite estates, such as Château Lafleur in Pomerol, have abandoned traditional regional labels entirely to use "Vin de France" designations for operational flexibility. Read more about this debate in Can Wine Appellation Systems Withstand Climate Change?. [1, 2]

Geographic Shifting

Moving north: Growers are planting new vineyards in northern regions like Brittany and Normandy where it used to be too cold.
New risks: Northern growers still face erratic weather, unseasonal frosts, and sudden heavy rains.

Strange weather

 

A gale blew on Sunday, most strangely. We reached gusts of 50.2 knots, with temperatures above 20C and high humidity. I've never felt weather like this in Ireland before. We had the occasional sprinkle but nothing much to speak of. It felt tropical, but here we are in September, and there have been no hurricanes in the Atlantic yet this year, and none are expected to form in the next 7 days. 

Meanwhile, I came down with a respiratory infection, probably Covid, which is reportedly circulating in the vicinity according to HSE trackers. So I am drinking a hot toddy with honey. It really works. 

The tides will be super high next week, so let's hope for the best. 

Albarino in polytunnel

 

I harvested the Albarino in the polytunnel as it was starting to look tired. The Brix measured 18-19. Not bad for our first crop of this fine grape from two vines rescued from the vineyard. There were several leaves that had 2 grapes growing out of them, a curious phenomenon I have not seen on other varietals. The Solaris and Rondo have grapes growing alongside tendrils but not alongside leaves. In future years, perhaps we can add the albarino to our Solaris must. It might make an interesting wine. 

I also harvested the single bunch of Buckland Sweetwater, a heritage variety, and it is nowhere near what it used to be at Ross. I imagine it will take a few years to produce those huge, juicy bunches Meike used to harvest. 

Adapting to climate change

 

"As many of us joke, there is no “normal” vintage anymore—to the point that when we do get a year our parents’ generation might have called normal, it feels like such an aberration that even normal is no longer normal." 

It seems to be happening everywhere. An early start to the season, wet spring, dry summer, early harvest. Until it's not. A winemaker on substack reports that they are about 65% through their 2026 vintage in their historic Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma County. 

Liam here in Ireland was preparing to harvest his Solaris weeks earlier than normal when the birds devoured about half of his harvest. 

We're not ready yet, but at least it is raining here so maybe, just maybe, we'll have a decent take. 

 

Dry land

 

Despite the recent rain, the ground below the surface remains powder dry. Heaven help us! Literally. 

Brix

One of the vineyard owners posted a note that he was just getting ready to harvest Solaris when the birds took half his crop. That spurred me into starting to measure the Brix of our grapes. We are not close to harvest yet. 

The Solaris came in at 15-16 while the Rondo were more varied. I measured from 12 to 16. The Pinot Noir aren't changing colour yet, so I didn't bother measuring them. 

Yesterday we had some extraordinary weather, including 5.5 mm of rain. The temperature was quite nice, and a gentle breeze blew without gusting. One extraordinary thing that I noticed was that our soil temperature was the warmest in the country at 17.8 C. The next warmest was 17.5 C in Belmullet. Dublin Airport was 16.0 C. That's quite a difference. I'll have to start watching that as it could have a bearing on our vineyard success. I know we have an unusual microclimate due to Clare Island's parting of the clouds. We can watch them flowing down both shores of Clew Bay while we have sunshine down the middle. We've observed the clouds meeting up and reconnecting again in Castlebar. 

Station              Rain Max   Min   Sun     Wind     Gust        Soil   Global Gmin

                                mm     oC  oC     hr     Kts (Km/h) Kts (Km/h) oC J/cm^2 oC

Newport Furnace 5.5    17.3         14.6            8.6 (16)          (0) 17.8      569 14.5

August Stats

The numbers are in for the month of August, and the stats for Newport Furnace are not nearly as dire with respect to rainfall as I expected. I still cannot see the data on my PC, but I can access it on my mobile. I cannot, however, copy and paste it here. 

Rainfall totalled 111.5 mm, which is not as far off from the 133.0 LTA. Mean temperature was 15.9C, right on the LTA of 15.5. Soil temperature was, however, on the high side and similar to last year at 17.4C. 

It's supposed to be raining heavily right now, but nada. Several vineyards are reporting heavy losses of crop to birds.