Oddball winter’s wrath leaves Annapolis Valley grapes unscathed
It was an odd winter in the Annapolis Valley but the wild swings in temperature aren’t worrying grape growers.
Lightfoot and Wolfville Vineyards’ viticulturist Matthew Patterson said he isn’t overly concerned with the effect the strange weather has had on vineyards. Temperatures turned cold in late fall and persisted into the early winter. The middle of the season was mild and although temperatures turned colder again in March, he doesn’t anticipate any damage to grapevines.
“The lowest low we’ve had was -17.5 C, at least in our vineyard,” Patterson said. “We have a weather station, so we monitor that.”
He said they start to get worried when temperatures drop to -20 C or lower but the mercury stayed above this point throughout the winter. He said the vines were in good shape heading into the season.
Patterson said on March 20 that the vines remain dormant and he doesn’t believe that temperatures dropped down far enough during the colder snap in mid-march to make any significant impact.
Grape grower Stephen Ells of Ellslea Farms in Sheffield Mills said they began pruning their 13 hectares of vineyards in January.
“As much as we don’t have frost and everything, the soil really hasn’t warmed up to a temperature where it’s stimulated the vines to start growing or come out of dormancy,” Ells said.
They have a lot of Vinifera grapes and are more concerned about severe cold stretches causing bud damage. Temperatures as low as -16.9 C this winter didn’t bother them, Ells said.
It would have to drop three or four degrees lower to cause problems.
At this point, he said, you have to start worrying about varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot experiencing bud damage. With hybrid varieties like L’acadie and Seyval, Ells said he wouldn’t get overly concerned unless the temperature dropped to -25 C.
Still, a warm spell could cause vines to bud early, leaving them susceptible to a late frost.
Ellslea Farms is in the midst of expanding its grape-growing capacity, with plans to double it within the next four years.
Long-time agrarian Glen Ells of Sheffield Mills said it’s been a decent winter overall. If there are very cold temperatures combined with strong, cold winds, grapevines can experience freezedrying and that’s when damage occurs. Fortunately, the Annapolis Valley didn’t experience these types of conditions this winter.
He said they were a little concerned over rising temperatures in February but the warmth wasn’t intense enough or sustained enough to wake the vines from their winter sleep.