Grapevines are dormant all winter — hibernating from the cold and snow — until the weather reaches an average of 50°F. Well, as you may have noticed, we have had temperatures much higher than that lately. In fact, even though it is only mid-April, we have experienced temperatures as high as 92°F, achieving a new record in Central Park last week.

Consequently, the vines have woken up from their slumber much earlier than expected. And, I mean MUCH earlier. According to figures posted on Vine Views referencing Cornell’s Cooperative Extension as the data source, the average date for bud break on Long Island is April 26 and the earliest was April 17.  Yet, this past weekend, on April 11, 2010, we clearly saw evidence of bud break on our vines as we sat outside enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Or at least we thought we did. It seems that what we actually have is bud swell; bud break doesn’t really occur until the bud unfurls its green leaf.

While bud swell and/or bud break are generally good things, heralding the start of the new viticultural year, the problem with such an early bud break is that Mother Nature can be quite fickle. Sometimes she decides that maybe she isn’t quite ready to proceed with Spring as we thought, bringing cold temperatures and possibly even a frost despite what had seemed like a permanent end to winter. The vine can withstand frost when it is dormant, but it is much more susceptible to damage once it has come out of dormancy, especially since the sap is flowing within it.

In Bordeaux, where climatic similarities with Long Island exist, they experience many of the same worries. Here, the Feast Days of Saints Mamert, Pancrace and Gervais (respectively May 11, 12, and 13) are thought to be the marker as to when the threat of frost has past and the Saints themselves are often referred to as the Saints of Frost and Freeze. Thus, we still have a full month before we can rest easy.

Elsewhere in the U.S., frost this time of year is also a problem. Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe noted that he was on Frost Patrol (waking up in the middle of the night to turn on fans and sprinklers) these past several weeks and had suffered damage due to a deep freeze earlier in April. Fortunely, a recent article published in Practical Winery and Vineyard Magazine offered some possible solutions to reverse the damage, so he may be able to save those vines after all.

Regardless of whether bud break has actually occurred, it is clear that this will be an interesting year since weather plays such an important role in the growth and development of the vine and, ultimately, the grapes themselves. Wine may be a more glamorous product than beans or orange juice, but in the end, it is still farming. Fingers crossed, we will have warm, dry weather stretching long into the fall, but only time will tell what the season will bring.