People often ask me about Spring freezes affecting the grape crop, but it's actually the Fall and Winter cold that can destroy entire wine vintages in the mountains of Colorado.
Fall 2025 has been a perfect setup for the 2026 grape crop.
Much of this is out of our control, as there's no practical way to heat an entire vineyard.
The first few frosts are key.
They signal to the vine to winterize without causing significant damage. Nutrients and water drain from the canes towards the roots to be stored for next year and to mitigate freeze damage.
Typically, we get a few 29° frosts to set the tone for the winter, but in 2020, we lost our entire next vintage because the first frost of the year was a 13° night.
Since we can't control the weather, the only thing we can do to set up the vines for success in the winter is to give them ample water before our irrigation shuts off in October.
Properly hydrated vines enter their dormancy period in healthier condition, and nature took care of this for us this year with heavy rain storms just as we were losing our water for the year.
There's still a long winter ahead of us, with much that can change. Last year, we lost 1/3 of the 2025 vintage due to a dry winter, and if it gets down to -10° in January, we could lose everything in a single night.
Since there isn't much we can do but hope, I'm taking this perfect Fall as a good omen.
