Willamette Valley could lose half its grape crop after frost hits Oregon vineyards

俄勒冈州的葡萄种植者最近忍受了野火，Covid-19关闭和热穹顶。没有人警告他们，冬天将于四月来。

Frost descended upon Oregon vineyards last week as temperatures in many locations dipped into the mid-20s. The timing was disastrous for sites where vulnerable grape buds were emerging from winter dormancy.

While preliminary reports from southern Oregon’s wine regions aren’t as dire, vineyard management consultant Stirling Fox thinks the Willamette Valley could lose 50% of its annual grape crop.

“这比2020年更糟糕。尽管有野火，但我们还是有果汁可以与之合作，有些人制作了不错的葡萄酒。如果您甚至没有果实要做任何事情，这在某些方面就是一个非老式。”福克斯说

福克斯Stirling Grapes, Inc.和Mad Violets Wine Co.在纽伯格，他说，他在25年的职业生涯中从未见过这样的霜冻。

“Based on what I’ve seen and what my peers are reporting, between 50% and 100% of the primary buds in many Willamette Valley vineyards were burned by the frost. At many of these sites, 50% of the secondary buds are burned. Realistically, we’re looking at the Willamette Valley losing half its crop this year,” Fox said.

A grape bud comprises three smaller sections known as the primary, secondary and tertiary buds. The primary bud contains a tightly furled shoot with flower clusters that produce grapes during the growing season. The smaller secondary bud will typically develop if there is damage to the primary bud.

The secondary bud’s biggest drawback is it has fewer flowers per cluster and produces 30-50% less fruit than the primary bud. Relying on the secondary bud can also delay harvest for approximately two weeks.

If the secondary bud is damaged as well, the tertiary bud, which produces little to no fruit, will bloom.

“Then you have to farm the vines without getting grapes in return. That’s really rough,” said Dai Crisp, a veteran vineyard manager and owner ofLumos Wine Co.in Philomath.

霞多丽和黑比诺芽早于其他品种，使它们特别容易受到早期霜冻的影响。

“我肯定看到一些葡萄园遭受重创，尤其是霞多丽，有些却充满了损失。丝带岭和Yamhill-Carlton的一部分受到了猛烈打击，” Bree Stock说。Constant Crush Wine和教育总监俄勒冈葡萄酒委员会。

Fox warns that the Willamette Valley isn’t out of the woods just yet: “We’re not even into the normal 100-day growing cycle, so we could have more frost, or things could happen near flowering, and we could have a poor fruit set.”

The early reports coming from southern Oregon’s winegrowing areas indicate some frost damage, but nothing as severe as what the Willamette Valley is experiencing.

Typical is the report from Herb Quady, the partner/winemaker atQuady Northin Jacksonville and the owner ofApplegate Valley Vineyard Management。

“As of today, it looks like those who had frost protection did OK. At our site, temperatures dropped to 30 degrees but held. We seem to have very little damage at our site, but wind machines probably made the difference,” Quady said.

Frost fans that circulate warmer air are commonplace in southern Oregon’s vineyards and orchards. Overhead sprinklers that encase grape buds in a protective coating of ice are another popular method of frost protection. It may sound counterintuitive, but encasing a grape bud in ice keeps the water contained in its tissues at temperatures near or slightly above freezing.

Overnight temperatures dipped to 26 degrees Fahrenheit in the early morning hours on April 15 inTroon Vineyard在赠款中。Troon总经理Craig Camp表示，他们激活了Frost的球迷和Pulse Sprinklers，以避免伤害。

坎普还说，霜冻损害的问题在各种方面是特定的：“我们种植了比黑比诺之类的芽般的芽，所以我们在Applegate山谷的芽中断不如其他人那么先进。”

Representatives from both the Oregon Winegrowers Association (OWA) and the OWB declined to comment on the extent of the frost damage, citing a need to collect more information.

When asked about applying for emergency governmental assistance for grape farmers, Jana McKamey, the OWA’s executive director, replied in an email: “A first step is an understanding of the impacts which might not be known for some time (several weeks at least). But yes, discussions are ongoing within OWA about what might be available or requested should relief be needed. At this time, there isn’t a clear picture.”

- 迈克尔·阿尔伯蒂（Michael Alberty）为俄勒冈州/俄勒冈州的葡萄酒写了关于葡萄酒的文章。他可以接触到malberty0@gmail.com。要阅读更多他的报道，请去oregonlive.com/wine。