Depending on who you ask, our region’s average last frost is May 10th…or the 15th…or the 30th. So it’s hard to breath that sigh of relief until we are out of that May window. The vines typically show much growth in May but the threat of frost is ever present. Frost is one thing and a freeze is another. The week of May 3rd began with a hot 82-degree day. Five days later the temperature plunged to 28 degrees plus some wind chill There are several strategies to mitigate the difference of a few precious degrees but at 28 there is nowhere to hide.

We began our pruning for 2020 in the LaCrescent block with that variety always being the first to emerge. Much effort went toward retraining some misshapen or diseased vines. New shoots were unfolding picture-perfect on newly-stretched cordons. Those efforts were thwarted by the freeze, causing this year’s growth to eventually come from different parts of the vine than we intended. Other varieties were less impacted and experienced spotty injury that still follows the existing shape. The Concord vines had not been pruned before the freeze event and remain unpruned still. It appears that the first buds on last year’s canes are the dominant growth and that is what we would hope for anyway. They will need a little haircut to remove the damaged ends which budded first. Overall this year’s harvest yield will be lower than average, but we are thankful to see the vines recovering, generating plenty of leaves to remain strong and healthy.