Pinot Noir second to burst

 

Alex took a photo of our first bud burst among the Pinot Noir vines yesterday. It's not leafy yet and given that it's a cold week, I'm really surprised. Curiously, last year we had bud burst on all the varietals on the same day. This year not so. I think the Pinot will do well for us. 

I reported the bud burst to the UK Vineyard Report and noticed that they want reports at every stage. We only reported bud burst last year. This year, I'll have to record and report bud burst, frost, flowering, veraison, harvest and end of season. My little contribution to monitoring climate change. 

Weather yesterday 7-4-21

Station             Rain Max     Min Sun Wind

Newport Furnace 2.1 12.7     2.7 6.2 (11)

Bud burst

Rondo bud burst

I've been checking daily as our weather has been extraordinary for the past week. Yet today, it was bitterly cold, with sleet and hail showers every time I tried to go outside. I finally managed to get out when the wind died down a bit. Lo and behold, the Rondo has bud burst. That's 11 days earlier than last year, at least for the Rondo. 

Unlike last year, when all the varietals had bud burst on the same day, this year it's only one. The Solaris is close and the others still have a way to go. The good news is that, although the buds are tiny on the Albarino vines, all but 2 or 3 plants have buds and are alive. Halleluja!

Solaris is close - only one bud that I noticed this advanced.

Chardonnay not there yet

Pinot noir getting ready

Bitterly cold today

Wine tasting

 
For Easter, Alex uncorked one of our precious bottles of nectar from the Rondo vines. There was quite a bit of sediment, but we don't mind having grown up on French wines. The clarity was good, the colour was deep, the nose was fragrant and so we dared to sip. Blackberries! Not too sweet, high alcohol content, fruity nose -- altogether drinkable. Our first attempt was not toxic. We were both pleasantly surprised. 

The wine actually paired well with the first course of devil-dipped quail eggs, main course of lamb and dessert of apple cake. It actually wasn't that different from a premium Rioja I had uncorked before I knew what Alex was up to. It's almost exactly 6 months since we bottled. With more time, it might mellow even more. But for two novices to have created a wine that we didn't have to spit out was a major accomplishment. 

Happy Easter!

More vineyards in Ireland

The Journal.ie reported on the vineyards producing the nectar of the gods in the land of Guinness in 2015. They covered some of the more well-known vineyards. UK Vineyard report lists a few more, including ours - Daria's Vineyard. Ireland has a drop in the bucket compared with the UK nowadays. Last year, we recorded bud burst on the 15th of April. 

• Lusca Vineyard - Dublin
• Wellingtonbridge Vineyard - Wexford
• Viking Irish Drinks (Dennison's Vyd) - Waterford
• Ballydrehid House Estate Vineyard - Tipperary
• Watergrass Vineyard - Cork
• Daria's Vineyard - Mayo

We report bud burst to them, but not yet. I checked today and, although the Rondo is getting close, I wouldn't call burst just yet. I'd say we are at late bud swell. The good news is that it appears that the Albarino vines are alive. They really did appear dead a couple of weeks ago but now they have fresh-looking buds. Yippee!

By the way, our honey bees have been very active. I expect the orchard and vineyard to bear lots of fruit this year. Although grapevines are hermaphroditic and self-pollinate, bees are very important in maintaining a healthy organic ecosystem in the vineyard. Many people don't realise just how important they can be. Of course, they can also go after the sweet juices of the grapes if their foraging isn't supported otherwise. If we practice organic biodynamic husbandry, then everything should maintain its equilibrium. 

Rondo

Solaris

Chardonnay

Pinot noir

Albarino

Happy St. Daria's Day by the Julian Calendar. Alex says it's fitting that my name day should come on April Fool's Day!

Native black honeybee

Sap Flow Pruning

Leave two spurs!
If you only use one side of the vine, the other side will die off.
(Wineaustralia.com, 2021)

I was just catching up on some reading and discovered that we may have unwittingly pruned very effectively in our first years. It turns out that if you leave just one renewal spur, it draws sap up one side of the vine only, and the other side eventually dies off. To keep the sap flowing all through the trunk, keeping two renewal spurs or fruiting canes on opposite sides of the trunk saves the wood from dying off. 

Sap flow pruning seems very logical. We did it because we were afraid that only one spur wouldn't;t have a great chance of surviving, and we could always select the stronger spur later on. But now we'll keep it always, with canes going off in opposite directions trained on the overhead wires. I feel fortunate to have been conservative. 

Getting close to bud burst awfully early

Snow (#sniachta) on Croagh Patrick, bees active in the hive, cat climbing trees, vineyard coming to life. Things are happening in County Mayo. Disappointingly, the Albarino are the only vines that don't look good. 

Snow on Croagh Patrick

Beehive with thyme growing below to discourage varroa and Ghost

Cat in favourite tree

Native black honeybee

Rondo

Rondo

Solaris

Chardonnay

Solaris

Solaris

Solaris

Pinot noir

Albarino

A live looking Albarino vine

 

Native black honeybee

Happy Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere was at 09:37 on Saturday, 20 March - today. And right on cue, everything started bursting at the seams. Every fruit tree except one hatched. The vines are getting ready but no bud break just yet. 

The weather has been fine and chores are getting done. Yesterday, it was hot and sunny. I spent the afternoon painting the wrought iron table legs and the temperature on the porch read 33.7C degrees in the sun. I was in a T-shirt, sandals and rolled-up trousers. Bring on the summer.