New York vintners remain optimistic after cold front unleashed extreme temp swing
By
John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 17, 2020 8:22 PM EST
With a major cold front expected to hit western New York, Dexter Henry visited a vineyard in Dundee to see how winemakers are preparing for the cold weather.
Vintners in the Finger Lakes region of New York scrambled to protect their susceptible grape vines amid a dramatic temperature plunge late last week and into the weekend.
Mild winter conditions quickly yielded to an Arctic chill overnight with temperatures neared zero degrees Fahrenheit Saturday morning, after the temperature plummeted nearly 40 degrees in two days.
The 2019-20 winter season has been relatively mild across the region with below-average snowfall and temperatures soaring above normal for many days. The mild weather has caused vineyard buds to become softer and more vulnerable to potential cold weather snaps.
During the winter months, grapevine buds encounter what is known as 'cold hardiness' which is when dormant grapevine tissues build a tolerance to cold weather by being exposed to it, according to Texas A&M Viticulture and Enology.
Grapevine cold hardiness usually peaks in January into February, but when exposed to warmer-than-usual weather, they can become more susceptible to damage when cold air rushes through again.
"The main challenge with this incoming cold will be bud damage. Certain winter tender varieties, such as Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, can suffer around 50% bud loss at temperatures below zero degrees F," 3 Brothers Winery manager Nate Crawford told AccuWeather.
Rapid temperature changes, such as the one seen in New York last week, can also cause the trunk of the vines to start splitting, which can cause diseases in the vines.
Vidal Blanc grapes sit in snow after falling from the vine at Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
However, not all variates are made the same. According to Crawford, there are more hardy hybrid and native variates that are less vulnerable to damage from the frigid air, such as Riesling and Cabernet Franc.
"Cold weather damage is usually site specific because the protective inversion from the lakes affects vineyards differently," said Crawford.
Researchers at Cornell University study grapevines and help determine current hardiness and other potential impacts that vineyards in the Finger Lakes area could experience.
In an update last week, researchers said that the buds have already achieved their maximum hardiness for the winter. The most vulnerable cultivar is currently the Cabernet Franc at minus 8.7 F LT50 (considered moderately tender) and the least vulnerable being the Concord at -23.4F LT50 (very hardy).
LT50, short for "lethal temperature 50," is the temperature the air has to reach for 50% or more of buds to be killed.
Crawford says he doesn't get too worried when temperatures get around the zero mark, it's when temperatures fall to minus 10 or below that he starts to get nervous.
"I'm generally expecting around 20% bud damage on a good year in most Vinifera grapes, so we trim with that in mind. We will also collect samples and cut buds to check for mortality," said Crawford.
Two winegrowers cut vines on the snow-covered vineyard of Molinaera at Trimmis in the Rhine valley. (AP Photo/Arno Balzarini)
However, knowing the coming weather days in advance sometimes isn't enough and preparing for freezing temperatures can take place months before threatening cold approaches.
"Before winter begins we do what is called 'hill up' our vines, we use earth to cover the graft union of the vine. This graft is very susceptible to cold damage and by using the earth to protect it, we rarely see damage to actual vine from cold temps," Buttonwood Grove Winery owner Dave Pittard said.
But when the winter is already in progress, other measures are taken quickly to try and keep the vines from dying.
"On our coldest sites we have installed wind machines, and wind machines are just trying to move the air around, especially on those nights when the wind settles and you have no air movement," said Fred Merwarth, owner of Herman J. Weimer Vineyard in Dundee.
Mother Nature also provided some help as the frigid weather settled in. "I mean the best thing is that we have snow cover. That is a huge insulator for the vines," he said.
Though, Merwarth says dealing with the drastic temperature swings every winter is just part of the stressfulness that can come with being a vintner.
"Everybody just waits for that next shoe to drop where you're like you know it's on the horizon. Very few times do we make it out of a winter where you don't have one or two nights that's borderline. That's what we've learned," said Merwarth.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
New York vintners remain optimistic after cold front unleashed extreme temp swing
By John Murphy, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 17, 2020 8:22 PM EST
With a major cold front expected to hit western New York, Dexter Henry visited a vineyard in Dundee to see how winemakers are preparing for the cold weather.
Vintners in the Finger Lakes region of New York scrambled to protect their susceptible grape vines amid a dramatic temperature plunge late last week and into the weekend.
Mild winter conditions quickly yielded to an Arctic chill overnight with temperatures neared zero degrees Fahrenheit Saturday morning, after the temperature plummeted nearly 40 degrees in two days.
The 2019-20 winter season has been relatively mild across the region with below-average snowfall and temperatures soaring above normal for many days. The mild weather has caused vineyard buds to become softer and more vulnerable to potential cold weather snaps.
During the winter months, grapevine buds encounter what is known as 'cold hardiness' which is when dormant grapevine tissues build a tolerance to cold weather by being exposed to it, according to Texas A&M Viticulture and Enology.
Grapevine cold hardiness usually peaks in January into February, but when exposed to warmer-than-usual weather, they can become more susceptible to damage when cold air rushes through again.
"The main challenge with this incoming cold will be bud damage. Certain winter tender varieties, such as Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, can suffer around 50% bud loss at temperatures below zero degrees F," 3 Brothers Winery manager Nate Crawford told AccuWeather.
Rapid temperature changes, such as the one seen in New York last week, can also cause the trunk of the vines to start splitting, which can cause diseases in the vines.
Vidal Blanc grapes sit in snow after falling from the vine at Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
However, not all variates are made the same. According to Crawford, there are more hardy hybrid and native variates that are less vulnerable to damage from the frigid air, such as Riesling and Cabernet Franc.
"Cold weather damage is usually site specific because the protective inversion from the lakes affects vineyards differently," said Crawford.
Researchers at Cornell University study grapevines and help determine current hardiness and other potential impacts that vineyards in the Finger Lakes area could experience.
In an update last week, researchers said that the buds have already achieved their maximum hardiness for the winter. The most vulnerable cultivar is currently the Cabernet Franc at minus 8.7 F LT50 (considered moderately tender) and the least vulnerable being the Concord at -23.4F LT50 (very hardy).
LT50, short for "lethal temperature 50," is the temperature the air has to reach for 50% or more of buds to be killed.
Crawford says he doesn't get too worried when temperatures get around the zero mark, it's when temperatures fall to minus 10 or below that he starts to get nervous.
"I'm generally expecting around 20% bud damage on a good year in most Vinifera grapes, so we trim with that in mind. We will also collect samples and cut buds to check for mortality," said Crawford.
Two winegrowers cut vines on the snow-covered vineyard of Molinaera at Trimmis in the Rhine valley. (AP Photo/Arno Balzarini)
However, knowing the coming weather days in advance sometimes isn't enough and preparing for freezing temperatures can take place months before threatening cold approaches.
"Before winter begins we do what is called 'hill up' our vines, we use earth to cover the graft union of the vine. This graft is very susceptible to cold damage and by using the earth to protect it, we rarely see damage to actual vine from cold temps," Buttonwood Grove Winery owner Dave Pittard said.
But when the winter is already in progress, other measures are taken quickly to try and keep the vines from dying.
"On our coldest sites we have installed wind machines, and wind machines are just trying to move the air around, especially on those nights when the wind settles and you have no air movement," said Fred Merwarth, owner of Herman J. Weimer Vineyard in Dundee.
Mother Nature also provided some help as the frigid weather settled in. "I mean the best thing is that we have snow cover. That is a huge insulator for the vines," he said.
Though, Merwarth says dealing with the drastic temperature swings every winter is just part of the stressfulness that can come with being a vintner.
"Everybody just waits for that next shoe to drop where you're like you know it's on the horizon. Very few times do we make it out of a winter where you don't have one or two nights that's borderline. That's what we've learned," said Merwarth.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo