For the last few weeks it has been a very un-English summer. Hot, sunny, settled. The normally green English landscape has turned a parched pale yellow. I can’t remember a summer like it. 2005 came close, and 2003 was also abnormally hot, but that year most of the heat came later. My vines are loving it, and have set a nice full crop. For any UK vineyards that avoided frost, 2010 looks set to be a fantastic vintage, with good fruit set and low disease pressure. So far.
This weather is great for sitting outside in the long evenings we enjoy at this latitude. And for barbecues. It’s time for bright, unoaked whites, sparkling wines, and lighter reds. It’s also the time of year when most red wines benefit from 20 minutes in the fridge before opening.
As a summer lover. I’m really enjoying this weather. Older son came back from school yesterday, so we took the dog for a walk to Feltham bowls to inspect the graffiti together. Then this evening we went for a barbecue with some good friends, watching the world cup final together. The result was the right one: it would have been wrong for the Dutch to have won after their cynically aggressive attempt to stop Spain playing.
7 Comments on The heatwave
In our Pebblebed Vineyards in Devon we have had very good flowering with a potential large crop on the vines.No signs on mildews at all at the moment.See the boss Geoff Bowen on Dragons Den on weds nite BBC2 being grilled by the dragons and so very good PR for the English Wine scene.
Jamie,
Yes, no doubt Spain deserved to win and if Nigel de Jong had seen red instead of yellow that would have been well deserved too! But if we are talking about cynical: it’s cynical that Spain needed the help of a (UK!) referee who couldn’t recognize a corner that even the blind could see!!
Next time talking about wine,please Jamie…..!!
Yes, this comment is coming from Holland, the best worldchampion that never made it!
Paul Metman
You are right that the Dutch should not have won, because Spain was the better team. Yup. I agree, although I have seen fouls on both sides. But what caught my eye most was the godawful referee, of whom England should be ashamed.
Guys…why is it always the referee…
If the so called professionals had tried to play football…instead of trying to con the officials and harass them…maybe we would have seen a better game.
I still play at 64 and am not averse to putting it about…so I am all for ‘contact’ when it comes to soccer.
What would have been said if one or two had been sent off after 30 minutes?
The referee ruined the game! He gave the players a chance…which they didn’t take.
The corner was only seen when you get a camera DIRECTLY behind the ball…
and..OK…it was a corner..BUT…when does the situation become non-valid. After 5, 10 30, 60 minutes. You defend the next attack…..first rule when you play!
The foul from De Jong was worse than it looked…his eyes are on the ball..then the player came between. De Jong is hard…and fair…he takes as much as he gives.
The sad thing is…the Dutch were capable of more…it could have been a great game. It went wrong..the old saying arises…a bad workman always blames his tools!
it’s good to know that weather changes still bring good effects to many things.
it’s a wine blog but ralph you are talking utter nonsense. even the famed collina would have been troubled – the dutch had the right strategy but did a few dirty things and they were lucky that they ended normal time with 11 players.
ref the weather (hope you like the segway – i think i’ve spelt that wrong), heavy rain showers on the way this week, so fingers crossed for all the viticultularists out there that nice breezes come through to ventilate the vines.
@ Simon T: Dear Simon, I am not talking utter nonsense. Howard Webb did not control the game as he should have. Keeping 11vs11 on the pitch, as he did during normal time, was a bad decision. He should have sent off De Jong at least, and perhaps Van Bommel and Puyols. When he didn’t, things gradually spun out of control. And he missed a couple of crucial things (corner, anyone?). So he was a godawful referee on this night. By the way, I am Dutch, and I am ashamed of Oranje’s performance during the final match; that too was abismal.
This being a wine blog, I will comment no further on the match. Unless Jamie opens footballanorak.com 😉