Loire about to set unwanted weather records + Bordeaux view

Cabernet Franc vines at Nau Frères, Bourgueil 6th May 2011 (above and below) –

already the first signs of flowering were apparent

The weather in the Loire continues to be unseasonably cold with little sunshine and well above average rain in May. Unfortunately at the Bourges weather station May 2013 has already set a record for the lowest amount of sunshine and has broken the record set in May 1996. Although the stats for today are not yet available, only 141 hours of sunshine have been recorded to 30th May and this comfortably below the 156 recorded in May 1996. The average sunshine (1991-2010) for May here is 210 hours and the record for most hours of sunshine is 311 hours in May 2011 – well over twice the number of hours!*

Except for brief glimpses of sun today has been overcast. At the Tours weather station things are more finely balanced. To date 142 hours of sunshine have been recorded just short of the record low of 144 hours established in May 2007. Did Tours have two hours of sunshine today – I doubt it.  

Château Soucherie: debudding Chenin Blanc on 27th May 2013

Admittedly the area is different as is variety but the growth on the vines at Bourgueil 

on 6th May 2011 is significantly further advanced than here over 20 days later in 2013

Flowering is not expected to start here for another two weeks

27th May was easily the sunniest day since we arrived 

on 23rd May but it did then rain all night   

 Quarts de Chaume 2013: young buds and a potential grape 

well off flowering: 27th May 2013 

     

The vines are well behind a normal year and far behind 2011, which was a particularly early year. Flowering is unlikely to start until mid-June and the vines also have a lot of growth to make. 

In early June will post final stats for May for a number of Loire weather stations.   

* Source: Meteo France

Plus a view on 2013 from Bordeaux:
'With the dust now settling on the 2012 campaign, thoughts are gradually turning to the 2013 vintage. Liv-ex has opened up the blog to Bordeaux grower, local winemaker and writer Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney). His insider’s view on the growing conditions - and prospects - for this year's vintage are below. All photos in this article are copyright Gavin Quinney. 

There hasn't been a poor vintage in Bordeaux for twenty years but the cold, damp weather, as we approach the critical month of June, is a gentle reminder that anything can happen.

The 2013 harvest will be my fifteenth (a rookie still) and the development of the vines across Bordeaux this year is the most backward I've seen. Our vineyard manager, Daniel, will tell you the same thing, and he's been here since the 80s.'

Read the rest here:  

How to make easy money in Vouvray: hedge viticulture

Thick hedge of vines – where are the grapes?

Just by Laurent Bonneau's neatly tended vines in Vernou was a parcel of rather neglected vines – broken wires with the vines allowed to grow into a vigorous hedge with so much luxuriant leaf cover that it was virtually impossible to see any bunches of grapes without parting the dense foliage.

Bunches deep inside – well protected from any sun

You might wonder how these grapes will ever ripen. The answer is that they probably won't and it won't matter too much as the grapes will be used to make cheap sparkling Vouvray. The lack of sunshine and ripeness will be made up by adding sugar – thus supporting les betteravistes (beet farmers) from Northern France.

70% of all Vouvray is sparkling. Permitted yields for still Vouvray is 52hl/ha, while for sparkling it is 65hl/ha, so for many there is a clear economic incentive to opt to grow grapes for les bulles. This 'hedge' style producer probably makes more money than someone who looks after their vines carefully and is determined to make the best wine they can. Our 'hedge' vigneron will have much lower labour costs due to their minimal intervention in the vineyard. Weeds will normally be controlled by weedkillers, pests by a range of insecticides. and the hedge effect aided by artificial fertilisers. Their yields will be substantially higher. Normally the grapes will be picked by machine.

In contrast: well exposed and separate Chenin Blanc bunches

It costs money and a lot of time to look after a vineyard properly and producers who adopt this approach normally seek to have much lower yields than the maximum allowed by the appellation rules.

•••

This week's Loire weather
After a rather unsettled week, the forecast for this coming week in the Loire looks good with fine weather so far expected for the whole week. In comparison to last year Tours has already had 1723 hours of sunshine in 2009 compared to 1463 hours to the end of September 2008 and is not far off already overtaking the total for the whole of the year – 1754 hours.