{"id":2909,"date":"2010-05-12T14:14:46","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T18:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=2909"},"modified":"2010-05-17T19:23:42","modified_gmt":"2010-05-17T23:23:42","slug":"frost-damage-hits-rappahannock-county-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/frost-damage-hits-rappahannock-county-vineyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Frost Damage Hits Rappahannock County Vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask a winegrower what his greatest fear is—other than scoring low in wine competitions—and the answer would likely be, \u201cFrost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"This year the dreaded chill arrived in the dark of night on two occasions, injuring the county\u2019s delicate vines. If frost hits during a period called \u201cbud break\u201d, it will kill the emerging grape cluster and deprived the winery of precious fruit.<\/p>\n

On April 29 and again on May 9, temperatures dropped to freezing in the county and singed a number of vineyards.<\/p>\n

Rappahannock Cellars lost small amounts of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and a somewhat larger crop of Cabernet Franc.<\/p>\n

Conversely, Grey Ghost Vineyards dodged the icy bullet, attributing their good fortune to early bud break that occurred at the beginning of April.<\/p>\n

Gadino Cellars estimated a one to two percent loss, focused mostly on its Chardonnay.<\/p>\n

Reports of other frost damage have been heard but are unconfirmed. Damaged vines can grow secondary shoots but will produce less fruit. \u00a0 Also, some damaged shoots might well have been thinned later in the growing season, so initial losses do not equate to a preordained loss of berries.<\/p>\n

The full impact of Jack Frost\u2019s visit may not be known until later in the growing season.<\/p>\n

Spring frost underscores the fundamental farming nature of operating a winery. Nature\u2019s bounty produces beautiful wines but it\u2019s often not achieved without the tension that\u2019s part of a life in agriculture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask a winegrower what his greatest fear is—other than scoring low in wine competitions—and the answer would likely be, \u201cFrost.\u201d This year the dreaded chill arrived in the dark of night on two occasions, injuring the county\u2019s delicate vines. If frost hits during a period called \u201cbud break\u201d, it will kill the emerging grape cluster […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[146,147,37,145,144],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n