August is gone

August ended with less rainfall than in the previous 3 years, but equal to the mean of 1981-2010. (Why they chose two earlier decades, I do not know.) August also saw the onset of veraison, or the beginning of the grapes turning colour. 

Meanwhile, September started with torrential downpours and flooding in Clifden, which is a short distance away in Connemara. We didn't have quite as much, but we still had a lot overnight and all day. Met Eireann had forecast 25-35mm rain for our area. And more to come. The air and soil temperature were almost a full degree higher than prior years. It certainly feels like climate change. 

Did I mention that we now have native honey bees?  Grapes don't need them as they self-pollinate, but the orchard should benefit enormously. Plus, I won't have to walk around with a paintbrush doing the pollinating myself. The suit can double as protection against coronavirus transmission. Just suit up and everyone will steer clear on the streets. 

MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 01-SEP-2020

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	54.7	164.5	187.9	137.9	3.5				1234.5
2019	146.8	115.0	228.5	100.7	112.5	76.6	82.7	228.9	175.5	160.7	148.1	220.6	1796.6
2018	274.6	155.6	86.2	94.3	70.4	65.9	58.6	179.1	148.3	140.9	172.6	201.0	1647.5
2017	94.3	151.0	216.2	31.1	64.2	108.3	164.0	197.6	153.3	190.1	203.0	179.7	1752.8
mean	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2020	7.2	6.0	6.6	11.0	12.8	13.8	14.4	16.0	16.6				11.0
2019	6.9	8.4	7.9	10.2	11.7	13.1	16.3	15.5	13.7	10.3	7.1	7.1	10.7
2018	5.9	4.6	5.5	9.1	13.1	16.1	16.1	15.0	12.4	10.9	8.3	8.1	10.5
2017	7.1	6.7	8.7	10.0	13.5	14.0	14.8	14.6	13.0	11.7	8.1	6.6	10.8
mean	6.1	6.1	7.3	9.0	11.5	13.8	15.4	15.4	13.5	10.8	8.3	6.5	10.3

Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2020	5.7	4.7	5.4	9.7	13.0	14.8	14.9	16.3	n/a				10.6
2019	6.1	6.1	6.8	8.9	12.2	13.8	16.7	15.7	13.5	9.4	6.2	5.6	10.1
2018	4.4	2.9	4.0	8.2	13.1	17.4	18.4	15.1	12.1	9.6	6.6	6.6	9.9
2017	5.5	5.6	6.9	9.6	13.7	14.9	15.8	15.2	12.7	11.1	7.3	5.3	10.3
mean	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
2020	6263	10808	24545	46192	58476	43537	40215	40555	1429				272020
2019	5378	10595	21306	37648	49884	49607	45395	37116	26460	17406	8167	4766	313728
2018	5976	13390	25269	34709	58446	59849	51448	34923	22619	17123	7842	4068	335662
2017	6968	9849	26218	30764	61302	41046	44472	37677	26833	13741	7192	4601	310663
mean	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
2020	17.6	21.9	35.0	70.2	91.6	72.9	66.2	66.4	2.2				444.0
2019	13.4	21.5	35.4	60.4	79.0	78.2	79.5	62.9	42.8	29.2	14.8	14.3	531.4
2018	16.3	21.8	35.7	52.0	88.2	102.4	87.2	58.7	37.9	30.2	18.0	11.5	559.9
2017	15.6	18.1	39.5	52.4	95.8	68.2	72.1	60.6	43.7	26.1	16.5	12.6	521.2
mean	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
2020	22.4	31.9	51.8	98.9	130.8	104.8	94.3	92.7	3.2				630.8
2019	17.7	29.5	52.0	87.3	111.6	112.8	109.6	88.8	59.9	39.6	18.9	17.9	745.6
2018	21.9	30.2	51.7	76.4	127.4	140.4	120.7	82.2	53.1	40.6	22.8	14.9	782.3
2017	20.7	25.9	56.2	73.6	136.2	99.6	102.4	85.7	62.2	35.9	21.0	16.1	735.5
mean	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
2020	257	276	275	143	111	73	55	31	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2019	266	200	235	165	130	89	27	36	67	164	251	262	1892
2018	298	306	309	194	104	50	31	44	100	147	215	230	2027
2017	260	247	212	166	89	60	49	49	86	118	222	277	1834

---

Notes on the Data

Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
All means are for the period 1981-2010. Data updated daily at Mid-day.

OPEN DATA

Veraison has begun!

 

The grapes have started to turn colour but they are still quite petite. I hope they get to fill in a bit more before harvest. We had two storms back to back in less than a week -- not as bad as further south of us which got the brunt of the winds and rain. Fortunately, we staked just before the storms and we did not lose anything except one branch. I think the vineyard is quite protected by the orchard and hedges. Today, the winds turned to the North and it got quite cool. I hope the heat returns in time to help the grapes reach a good sugar content. 

Only the Rondos have fruited and they are quite heavily laden. Only one Solaris fruited -- the only one left potted in the nursery. No other Solaris even bloomed this year. I wonder what's the story there. 

So far the Pinot Noir vines are the most promising from the newer plantings. The Albarino sadly looks like it is struggling to survive. 

We are experimenting with adding some seaweed around the first ten vines. We'll see if that improves the vigor of the fruit next year, or if the growth gets too robust. 

How tariffs have affected wine sales

An analysis in Barron's and carried in Penta described how US tariffs on EU goods have affected wine sales in the US. Last October, the U.S. government began imposing 25% tariffs on still wine from several European countries in retaliation for European subsidy of Airbus. Those tariffs were supposed to expire now, but the US government has decided to let them continue. 

Tariffs on alcoholic beverages are causing harm to U.S. small businesses and the hospitality industry. The 25% tariffs mean that for every US$1 in harm dealt to EU businesses an estimated US$4.52 is dealt in damage to U.S. businesses. This is hard to absorb on top of the Covid-19 pandemic fallout. 

The US has a prohibition-era law that requires only US-owned businesses to deliver wine to consumers in a three-tier system. The U.S. distribution system requires wine producers (which can include importers) to sell to wholesalers, which then sell to retailers, which sell to consumers, meaning margins for most of these businesses are relatively modest. 

Allowing the tariffs to continue has sent a message to all these small businesses. I hope they take that message to the polls in November. 

Still raining

We had a little bit of sunshine yesterday, interspersed with showers, in the aftermath of Storm Ellen. One of those 'Oh, it's sunny let's go out - No, it's raining better go in.' days. Seemingly continuing today. 

We got off okay. Just one gust around 60 knots in the middle of the night, but mostly winds in the range of 40 knots, and little damage. Storm Ellen brought us much rain -- buckets full all around the house. Newport had 28.8 mm rain on the 20th, 4 mm on the 21st, and 5.5 on the 22nd. I haven't gotten into the vineyard to see the grapes, but the vines looked fine from the orchard, as far as I got before the rain yesterday. And it's not supposed to let up much. 

There are two Tropical Storms in the Atlantic heading for the Gulf of Mexico. If they become hurricanes, it will be the first time two hurricanes enter the Gulf at the same time ever. Texas is bracing to take the brunt. Fortunately, those storms are not forecast to come our way. Fingers crossed. 

CUMULATIVE RAINFALL GRAPHS