Freeze warning

I grow grapes and make wine as a hobby but I spend a lot of time on both. Last Sunday we had cold weather here in the Kansas City area and at 5:30 AM the temperature in the vineyard was 28F. Here are the results; Vidal, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon did best. Almost no damage. Vignoles and Chardonnay had about 10% of shoots frozen. There are a few Chardonel vines in the Chardonnay row that haven't died out and they suffered more damage than Chardonnay. There was about 20% damage to my Baco Noir and the shoots on these vines were the longest at about 6 inches. Worst were Chambourcin and NY73. About 75% of the shoots on these vines were frozen. I've been growing the vinifera vines for four years now and aside from our normal cold winters this is the first exposure to freezing temperatures after buds have opened. I was surprised at how well they did. The loss of Chambourcin and NY73 is a disappointment as a blend of these grapes makes a great red wine in my area. I'll still have enough of each to make a small barrel if Mother Nature gives us a pass on hail.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Reply to
William Frazier
Loading thread data ...

Bill,

I don't grow any grapes but I am in touch with commercial growers an hour or so from here in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada, some of whom I purchase juice from. Generally the viniferas, especially the whites, do quite well in our cold winters except for the occasional year such as 2003 when we had an extremely long, cold winter and a warm spell in the early spring followed by a very cold few days that did a lot of damage to the new buds. Severe losses were quite widespread. However, I understand that when there are relatively minor losses, it is not unlinke pruning back some of the branches to reduce the load on the vine and while it does reduce yield a little, it does improve quality. I hope this is the case with most of your varieties.

Let us know the outcome.

Glen Duff

Reply to
Glen Duff

Most vinifera are sensitive to freezing episode after bud break. Heck, most vinifera are sensitive to frost prior to bud break. I suspect that your vines are planted on a rootstock that will easily survive a single episode of mild frost. Your season is most likely lost for those, but there is always next year...

Good luck,

Stefan Mazur who grows grapes > I grow grapes and make wine as a hobby but I spend a lot of time on both.

Vidal,

Chardonel

temperatures

Reply to
smazur

Hi Bill, Wow! What a difference a few miles makes. We had damage to ground level suckers on Baco and Chambourcin. No damage from 6 inches above ground on up. I think our morning temp was a few degrees warmer as the dog's water bowl on the back deck had no sign of ice even though the thermometer showed 30-31. I wonder how Holyfield fared since they are so close to you???

Re Chardonel. I didn't know you were having trouble with them also. I nearly lost mine in 2002-2003. I thought it was heat & drought at the time. About a third had to regenerate from the roots; the rest were quite puny. I cut the 2003 crop off before bloom and had a decent harvest in 2004. They still look good this spring. Furthermore, I've never been particularly happy with the wine. I just might be persuaded to try Chardonnay one of these days.

I planted Chard> I grow grapes and make wine as a hobby but I spend a lot of time on both.

Vidal,

Chardonel

temperatures

Reply to
Fred Droege

Reply to
William Frazier

I grow a small amount of Frontenac and Sabrevois and I'm considering planting some Seyval in the near futur. Seyval is the main work horse around here and most commercial wineries in the region are able to come up with a product that is very nice.

Vinifera are out of the question for a hobbyist like me. A small winery near me grows Chardonnay with some succes. But it's quite a challenge considering that it doesn't give an interesting wine in the end. Lots of work for a bad Chardonnay if you ask me.

Out of curiosity, can't you cover them? For temperature near 0c, it's usually all that is needed.

Tell me about it. It's been raining non stop for the past 10 days here.

Stefan Mazur

Reply to
smazur

Stefan, I looked up your grapes. Hardy to minus 31F...WOW! I read that Sabrevois wine is similar to Baco Noir. I grow Baco and have big plans for this wine this year. I've made Baco wine for 8 years and think I finally understand how to handle the high acid, color and pH problems. Seyval is widely grown in our area and makes a nice wine.

I have 250 vines which would be a lot to cover but I should try this. The freeze damage was a surprise as this was the first time it's happened since I've grown grapes. Next year I'll be prepared to cover the most sensitive varieties. I'm still surprised by the varieties that were most damaged. Chambourcin and NY73, both hybrids, look pretty bad. We've had several more frost nights since my first post. Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon are still unaffected. It's always been said these vinifera varieties can't be grown here but they are doing quite well.

Reply to
William Frazier

Yep, and believe me, that's not overkill. January and Febuary are real killers here. I planted last year and it was quite satisfying seeing that not only none were lost but they were also the first thing to come back to life in the area. Looks like dears are now my biggest fear.

That's nice to know because winemakers here haven't quite come up with the correct recipe for them. High acidity and very rough (haven't tried an older wine yet). They are all convince that there's something to be done and some growers have even replace their Foch (previously the main red here) with them.

I remember when winemakers here found the trick with Seyval. The same year, they all had a vastly superior product then before. It's only been getting better since. The nice thing about being in such a small winemaking community is that everyone wants to help you out. I've gotten more advice then I can possibly handle.

damaged.

several more

I've always been under the impression getting vinefera to live wasn't that hard but getting them to rippen was more of a problem. But in Kansas, I guess that you've got long enough of a season to chance it.

Stefan Mazur Lac Brome, Quebec (not only north, but in altitude to boost)

Reply to
smazur

Stefan,

Seyval seems to be the workhorse in a lot of places. Besides being winter hardy , Seyval produces a full crop on secondary buds! Frost becomes almost a mute point when you have that advantage. I knew a grower from Quebec and during the frost in 2002 he said the hybrids were hit the hardest. It "seems" that vinifera are more frost tolerant than hybrids. Have you had any Lacresent wine lately??? Be interested in your opinion.

Bob

snipped-for-privacy@ers.ca wrote:

Reply to
doublesb

Incredibly enough, Seyval as to be protected here during winter. But it's a small price to pay for a vine that rippens well and can make a high quality wine in our climate.

Most hybrids seems to highly dislike spring frost. Commercial growers here usually heat the vineyard when frost is expected. That's why most Minnessota derived vines are seen as the way of the futur here.

I think that Pinot Noir is very cold hardy and that most vinifera will tolerate -20c. That means proctection here but doable. The 2 biggest problems with vinifera here is too short a season and about a gazillion sort of fungus running around everywhere looking for something to attack. As I said earlier, some do grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I've tasted the Chardonnay. I'll give the guys a couple of years but I don't expect much from it.

Looks promissing, but not available in Canada. It should be next year unless something is very wrong with it (as to go throught various approuval before it can be introduce). Seems to make a Alsace like wine. Have you ever tasted it?

Stefan Mazur

Reply to
smazur

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.