Finally, leaf fall

The weather in Ireland has been ridiculously mild this Fall. Few gales or storms. Way above average rainfall for September and below rainfall figures for October. Unusually, we had two days of intense all-encompassing fog which obliterated the world, then froze it in dendritic patterns.

Dormant season

This week we had a cold snap. Ground frost and freezing fog turned the landscape into Narnia. The water froze solid in the containers the cats drink from and the glass in the cold frame was covered in gorgeous crystal patterns. So I went into the vineyard to see if it was time to prune the grapevines.

Interesting!  The red grape vines had dropped all their leaves, but the white grape vines were holding on tightly. Still fully leafed. So "not yet" was the answer.

I raked the leaves from the lawn instead. The trouble with planting deciduous trees is that they drop their leaves and make work. I think I'll go for more evergreen from now on.

Fall in Daria's vineyard

The red Rondo grapevines have dropped their crimson leaves in our absence.  We were in Manchester for a few days and returned to see Fall in progress. The white grapevines are still holding on to their thick green foliage. I wonder if they will change colour yet before dropping to join their red sisters. We shall see. 

Whenever I visit the vineyard, I always have an escort of at least one cat. This time Thelma the crazy feral feline came along, winding around my legs in an effort to commit a crime against humanity by tripping me. It failed. But she nudged and nudged until I picked her up, which freaked her out as usual. 

We had several days of wet foggy windy days. Now we have southerly winds bringing in sunshine and warmth in the second week of November. So in a few weeks, if the cold does come and the vines begin their hibernation, I will begin the pruning. Until then, I watch and document and learn. 

NEW Wine for Seniors

NEW Wine for Seniors 

A glass before bed could assist with a good night's sleep.

Clare Valley vintners in South Australia,
which primarily produce
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Grigio wines,
have developed a new hybrid grape
that acts as an anti-diuretic.
It is expected to reduce the number of trips
older people have to make to the
bathroom during the night.

The new wine will be
marketed as PINOT MORE.

Sorry, my cousin thought I deserved this so I'm spreading the news!  

Frost has arrived

The last two days brought northerly winds and the first frost of the season. We have days with showers alternation with days with brilliant sunshine. Then there are the days like today where the showers and sunshine make in and out conditions all day long. If we had had any grapes, they would have been harvested sometime in October. This year, as last year, October was brilliant. Mild and mostly dry without any massive storms.

So far the grapevines have not dropped their leaves yet but the trees are mostly bare on our property. Inland, there is lots of colour .-- not scarlet, orange and golden like in New England -- mostly yellow. I love having trees to look at and love. We have moved all the sensitive plants to the greenhouse and into the house.  We are working on cleaning up the vegetable gardens and Alex is bringing up plenty of seaweed that washed up in the high tides.  Another season is coming to a close.

The making of wine in Ireland's history

As I wait for the grapevines to become dormant in this very mild autumn, I ponder the next steps in our venture. We only had one cluster of grapes this year on the Rondo variety; they disappeared before we could taste them. I have been staking and tying the vines with old nylon stockings which are very gentle on the vines. I will prune judiciously for the first time when they lose their leaves. Meanwhile, I continue with my research. 

Proof of terroir

My recent interest in malbec has led me to discover that vintners in California and in France have started producing their own malbecs. Those in France naturally claim that it's the original home of the malbec grape. Forget that they virtually gave up on that grape a long long time ago.

Argentina produces a stunning wine from the malbec grape grown in the high altitudes of the Mendoza region. So now everyone wants to bring back their version of malbec. Of course, there are folks out there who think that terroir is a bunch of nonsense. They suggest that it's all up to the grape and the vintner. So they plant some on rootstock in California; but the malbec grapes in Mendoza are on their original roots before Phylloxera. Now, I wonder if the malbec in Bordeaux was transplanted onto American root stock. I'll have to look that up. I think it would have been.