Moving forward after harsh winter weather

The day the vineyard froze; this photo was initially taken to display the beautiful white blanket
across our vineyard, not knowing what was to come that evening.

During a mid-winter freeze in January, our vineyard suffered unprecedented damage.  Temperatures dipped to -12°F and failed to rise above 0°F for over 50 hours, which is too cold for too long for the exposed woody parts of vines.  Fortunately, 6 inches of snow on the ground provided a blanket of warmth for the roots.  This bitter cold snap caused significant damage to vine wood above the snow line.  Our spring months were spent cutting the vines back, leaving 5 inches of each vine trunk above the ground.  Regrowing the vine wood above the ground ensures that these old friends can continue producing at their best for years to come.  We will begin harvesting from Umiker Estate Vineyard again next year.  Thankfully we didn’t need to replant, but it was heart-wrenching to cut down over 5,000 vines and pile them into a giant mound.

Stella Umiker (3) stands before the haunting pile of Umiker Estate vines.

     While we won’t have fruit from our Umiker Estate Vineyard this year (2024 harvest), we were quick to secure extra fruit from the reliable vineyards we’ve been sourcing from in past years.  Though many areas in the Pacific Northwest are seeing the same devastation that we did, our beloved partnering vineyards such as Phinny Hill, Verhey, Crawford, Roosevelt, and Rock n’J were not as affected by the freeze.  With this 2024 growing season, we should remain at the same production level as last year.  Like grapes on a vine, thanks for hanging with us!