We were surprised by a late frost that struck in the early morning hours of April 16. The temperature dropped to 30 degrees just before sunrise, covering the vehicle windshields with a light layer of frost that was gone by 8:30 a.m. I didn't discover it until the next day when I started spraying (two days later than planned) the season's second spraying of fungicides and liquid Sevin.
The Baco Noir had pushed and was showing vigorous growth and first signs of flowering. In addition, most of the Syrah had shoots about three inches tall, far ahead of the other vinifera. When I made my first pass spraying, I was shocked to see that the longer Syrah shoots were turning black. At first thought I feared a fungus, given opportunity by my tardiness in spraying. I climbed down from my tractor for a closer look and found it was frost damage rather than disease that had nipped all the longer shoots. Fortunately, the buds with only small leaves were undamaged.
The Baco Noir was about the same, with the added loss of the early flowers on the longer shoots.
I just read an article in The Wine Advocate about the effects of a late frost last year in Chianti, and how it reduced the 2017 crop there by about 30 percent. I will have to wait and see if we have the same results in Mint Hill.
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