Warm days in winter sure do feel nice, but when it comes to grapevines, it can get a little scary. The start of this year had some weather that was outstanding. We are talking mid 70’s in February! Just like we start to get excited and want to go outside, the vines start to get their juices flowing also. All fine and good, except we all know that such a good thing won’t last long, and it didn’t. The warm weather was followed by rain and then frost. For Napa, I consider it a relatively hard freeze that followed the warm spell, with several consecutive days of unusually cold temps. If the warm weather persists too long, the vines will start to bud, then that frost that is almost sure to follow will nip them (in the proverbial bud). This will result in ever-so-much fun for the farmers, fewer grapes for the winemakers, and in-turn less wine for the consumer…. (e.g. YOU!).
So, enjoy the warm weather while it lasts… Just not too much.