Business & Tech

Wineries Not Sweating Cold Start to Spring

In fact, winemakers say the late-to-bloom season could be a boon.

While cold temps are keeping the usual spring blooms from breaking out, a few insiders at North Fork wineries say they're not getting their grapes in a bunch over it.

We asked three leaders in the local winery scene to weigh in on the cold start to spring, and here's what they had to say:

"A late start in the growing season isn’t bad in and of itself. I think the thing to worry about is the erratic weather we have been having. A hard frost after bud break could have quite a bad effect on crop levels unless the renewals and kicker canes aren’t affected."

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- Greg Gove, Winemaker, Peconic Bay Winery

"I think what we’re seeing is closer to the historical norm for the North Fork. The last few years have been a little more atypical. Last year at this time we were already getting close to bud break in some vineyards. Most vines were out and growing by the second week of April last year – the result was that we did have a couple of nights of below freezing at the end of April which caused a slight crop reduction. As much as an early start can be helpful in getting the fruit to ripen earlier, I prefer a year like this for the vineyards as the cool weather will delay bud break until early May – beyond the point when a late spring frost could cause some damage.

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"Of course the date of bud break is not a complete determiner of harvest time. If we have a long, hot summer with little rain, the vines will accelerate their ripening. An early bud break followed by cooler rainy weather could delay growth. The wonderful thing about making wine on the North Fork is that there are so many variables – no two years are the same. It’s kind of like jazz- you have a song that everyone knows, but you never play it exactly the same way twice.

- Rich Olsen-Harbich, Winemaker, Bedell Cellars

"Cool springs are not an issue for vineyards as long as there are not large temperature variations day to day. What we are experiencing this year is a slow and steady warming trend that will eventually resemble normal spring temperatures.

"The main concern during a cool spring is the potential to get very warm days coinciding with very cold nights. The delicate buds on the vine begin to swell during the warm days and if we get a frost or freeze at night there could be bud damage. This phenomenon is not happening this year.

"So far this the vines are waking up very slowly but will catch up to normal growth very quickly once the warmer temperatures set in."

- Barbara Shinn, Co-owner, Shinn Estate Vineyards


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