Time to harvest?

I had a few moments yesterday to run up to the vineyard and test the Brix levels of our grapes. I grabbed the refractometers and started squeezing grape juice. The readings from three different areas of the vineyard were:

Rondo

• 20            1.080
• 16            1.065
• 17            1.070

Solaris

• 19.4          1.075
• 16.0          1.065
• 22.0          1.093

What a relief that we can wait a few days to harvest. 

Last week, we had more visitors, three brothers from Aghagower, one of whom, Brendon Edgeworth,  lives in Australia but wants to plant a vineyard on a plot he inherited here. They are very nice. I hope he does plant. The more the merrier. 

And Met Éireann today confirmed that this year was the warmest year in Ireland on record. 

What happened to our Solaris?

Our Solaris are not doing as well. There are very few grapes in the clusters. The vines are super vigorous this year. Could the vigor of the growth have stunted the development of the grapes?

Here's insight from a Spanish grape grower.

What causes poor grape cluster?

The "corrimiento" of the vine is defined as the accident that makes perfect fruit setting impossible, resulting in dismembered bunches with few berries, reducing the productive potential of the vineyard. Sometimes what occurs are alterations in fertilization, producing smaller berries that do not have grains, these may or may not fruit set.

The main causes of " corrimiento " are:

• Due to environmental factors: excessive rainfall, low sunshine, sudden changes in temperature.
• Due to excess vigor: In these cases the plant grows very quickly causing a deficit fruit setting, some rootstocks such as 140Ru and 1103-P accentuate this phenomenon.
• Lacks of some elements with iron, zinc and boron cause a bad curdling.
• Varietals: Some varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauignon and Garnacha have a tendency to this phenomenon

The solutions go through knowing the causes of the " corrimiento ", when they are due to an excess of vigor, it is due to:

• Limit the contributions of nitrogen fertilizers.
• Perform adecuated pruning
• Make trimmings, taking into account that they must be a little before flowering and that we must not overdo it since if it is too aggressive it can cause a harmful vegetative stop with cluster emissions that will produce a detriment in quality.
• The application of paclobutrazol, which is a growth regulator, limits the size of the shoots favoring good fruit set, it should be used two to three weeks before flowering and the amount to be used is very uneven, so it is advisable to be well advised .

So far the theory, now we go with empirical science, and for this I need to ask you some questions.

• 1st - What variety of grape is it and tell me if they are grafted on some vigorous rootstock like these (110 Ritcher, 140 Ruggeri, 1103 Paulsen), or if they are directly rooted vines
• 2nd- How are formed your vines , yor conduction system (Double cordon Royat, Double Guyot, etc …) , and know if you are doing short or long pruning (most likely you are doing an inappropriate pruning)
• 3rd- How old are the vines?

And then external factors would come, such as knowing if you have had bad weather conditions during the flowering and fruit setting period), and what type of fertilizer you make in your vines.

Most likely, you have a vigorous variety and are doing short pruning.

More rain and wind

 

It gusted over 57 knots last night. I would not have wanted to be out and about on a sailboat last night. Torrential rain this morning, then brilliant sunshine this afternoon. I spent the day painting our bedroom at the new house, from Mulberry to neutral. The room is so much brighter now. Tomorrow, I will measure Brix and process grapes from Turlough House. 

We have another visitor tomorrow, this time from Down Under, looking to establish a vineyard on a plot of land in Aughagower. 

Another gale

Here we go again. It has been raining heavily all morning and is now gusting to over 47 knots. This is another post-tropical storm, formerly known as Fernand. One of the viticulturists in our group has reported starting to harvest yesterday, with Brix readings on his Solaris of 20 and 22. I can't get out there to read our but I think waiting a few extra days won't hurt. 

This is going to be an extremely busy period. The replacement windows and doors for our house arrived yesterday. The furniture for our new townhouse arrived yesterday as well. Tomorrow I start painting the townhouse so we can move in while the renovation work is done on Port Aleria. I have to start emptying out the rooms in the house for the work to begin in about two weeks. 

Somewhere in there, we have to harvest and process the grapes. Good luck to us!

"Erin go Bragh"

 

"Erin go Bragh" is the anglicised form of the Irish phrase "Éirinn go Brách", meaning "Ireland Forever". It is a declaration of unwavering patriotism in Ireland, often used to express unity and pride in Irish heritage. The phrase and its associated flag with a gold harp became prominent during the Irish rebellions of the 18th and 19th centuries, serving as a rallying cry for national independence and a symbol for the global Irish diaspora.

Erin, the post-tropical hurricane, has been with us for two days, bringing rain yesterday and lots more rain and wind today. We had 21 mm of rain yesterday. The wind is gusting over 40 knots. It is to calm down tomorrow, but strengthen again over the weekend. Behind Erin is post-tropical cyclone Fernand with sustained winds of 40 knots and gusting 45. That's our weekend agenda. The cyclones are arriving in Ireland more frequently these days. 

I haven't been able to measure the Brix of our grapes or bag the white ones since last weekend. We had quite the week before that. We had a water main break, and Martin was here daily, divining to pinpoint the location of stuff underground and digging to reveal the source of the problem. It appears that the spring we thought we had was a leak that's been draining water since the house was built. That maverick builder spliced the line and used a coin to block one hose end. So the part of our garden that has always been wet may now be dry. Will everything I planted there die off?

I discovered that I am a diviner when Martin suggested I try his metal rods, which can locate underground water. Alex made me a pair with some wire he had. They work! The most fascinating aspect is that as I walk through the vineyard, the rods twist with every pair of vines I pass. Rather eerie. 

We also had Walter the digger driver here removing the donkey poo from the shed and laying stone where the mud was last year. Looks like we got that done just in time. 

The water scheme people did a great job. 

Coming down to the orchard

Connecting the gravel by the shed with the vineyard. 

And inside the donkey shed. 

Addendum: We received an additional 23.9 mm of rain yesterday, the 29th of Aug, and it's raining heavily now! 

PS: We got 16.6 mm of rain on Sat the 30th of Aug. 

 

Summer is lasting longer

 

Compared with summers 30 years ago, summers in the Northern Hemisphere are lasting 15-30 days longer than they used to. Temperatures in excess of 65°F are starting earlier and lasting longer. As far as I know, similar datasets are not available for Ireland, but I'd bet it's true here as well. 

As of yesterday, we are having about a five-day interlude with the remnants of Hurricane Erin. Massive seas, some wind, and occasional downpours mark her passage. I hope she doesn't dilute the grapes. 

Hurricane Erin is on its way

Hurricane Erin 

After Tropical Storm Erin became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, it accelerated its development in an unprecedented manner, strengthening from TS to Category 5 Hurricane in just about 24 hours. It then decreased in strength but grew vastly bigger. It now occupies a good portion of the Atlantic as it barrels up the coast of North America, causing flooding along the way. 

The latest word is that Erin has three options: 1) to turn right and head for the British Isles as a post-tropical cyclone, 2) to turn right and head for the Iberian Peninsula, or 3) pass to the west of the British Isles toward Iceland. Regardless of the outcome, our weather and vines will be affected again around harvest time. Everyone is watching and waiting. 

We've had several visitors this week. Our cousins from Germany, Florian and Celine, stayed most of the week. OCC Member Garry Crothers and Marie stopped by for a short visit en route to Galway. It was great to meet the 'single-handed' sailor whom Alex helped cross the Atlantic during Covid. It turns out he is also a viticulturist with a vine in a polytunnel. Today, our friends Miriam Moore and Gilly Fogg will be spending the night. They, too, will want a tour of the vineyard. Let's go!

Florian, Alex and Celine

Daria, Garry, Marie and Alex

Alex and Garry talking vines

Meanwhile, everything everywhere all at once was taking place. We have a water mains break which has been plaguing our backyard for weeks. When did they finally decide to check it out? Of course, this week. Martin the diviner and John the executive from the Kilmeena water scheme have been conducting tests, and it is definitely a water mains break. To find the pipes was an ordeal since the builder moved them from the original setup. I walked with the diviner and was amazed at how it works. Martin said I should give it a try, and John said few people have the gift. John does not. I was overwhelmed when the metal rods Martin offered reacted when I walked over water. I'm a diviner! I always knew I was electric and could set off all kinds of equipment without touching it, but this is pure magic. 

So Alex immediately made me a pair of rods for divining. I've been walking the land determining where everything is. It's a bit supernatural, but I guess I have to accept it. New career in store? Nah. 

The digging starts on Monday, oh joy, just in time for a hurricane.