6
CapitalPress.com
Spring frost nips Oregon vineyards;
growers uncertain of yield decrease
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
NEWBERG, Ore. — Willamette
Valley winegrape growers are assess-
ing what they fear could be signifi-
cant losses in their vineyards after
an unseasonable spring frost nipped
vulnerable buds that were just begin-
ning to emerge from dormancy.
Temperatures dipped below freez-
ing April 14-15 across the region,
which produces nearly three-quar-
ters of the state’s winegrapes. Cold
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
weather can kill buds or stunt vine
growth, reducing crop load come Time will tell the extent to which Willamette Valley vineyards were
damaged by frost in mid-April, growers say.
harvest in September and October.
However, producers say the
vineyard just because of the damage
frost’s impact varies by location,
we saw,” Bellingar said.
making it hard to determine the full
Bellingar and Mozeico empha-
extent of the damage.
“As much as we all want to
sized that frost damage is an issue
know right now what is the esti-
of winegrape quantity, not quality.
mated (yield) decrease for the whole
Mozeico said there is no reason to
region, we just don’t know yet,”
believe any wines from the 2022 vin-
tage will experience a dip in quality
said Jessica Mozeico, owner of Et
due to the cold snap.
Fille Wines in Newberg and presi-
dent of the Willamette Valley Win-
“What we know is it is very likely
eries Association.
we will have lower crop loads than
Mozeico said whether a partic-
we had hoped for,” she said. “What
ular vineyard was affected depends
we don’t know is how much lower.”
on two factors — if the vines had
Sam Tannahill, co-founder of A
reached “bud break,” and if it was
to Z Wineworks in Newberg, said
cold enough locally to damage them.
that while some vineyards were
Bud break typically happens The emerged shoots of Pinot noir undoubtedly impacted, the frost did
during mid-April in the Willamette show signs of frost damage, in- not appear to cause widespread or
Valley, and refers to the period when cluding browned tissues.
catastrophic damage statewide. A
vines “wake up” from winter. The
to Z buys grapes from 70 vineyards
buds eventually grow new shoots and of bud break in some blocks, though across Oregon, south to the Califor-
flowers, which develop into wine- Peterson-Nedry said it is still too nia border and as far east as Umatilla.
grapes as the season progresses.
Tannahill said cooler weather
early to draw any firm conclusions.
Mozeico said vines had not
“You really need to wait until the this spring may have delayed bud
reached bud break at her estate vine- buds push out before you find out break in some areas, protecting more
yard in the Chehalem Mountains, what you got, and what you don’t grapes from frost damage.
which is at a higher elevation. She have,” he said. “That is the key to
“If all the buds had broken, we
does not expect to see a major impact this ... patience and not making a could have seen significant damage,”
there, though Et Fille Wines does judgment until they have made it he said. “The fact is, we dodged a
manage blocks at eight other vine- themselves.”
bullet.”
yards that could see reduced yields.
Unlike the Willamette Valley,
Kim Bellingar, of Bellingar
“The question becomes, How Estates in Newberg, said that unfor- vineyards in Southern Oregon and
much less?” Mozeico said. “That’s tunately she is seeing “pretty signifi- the Columbia River Gorge also typ-
the stage we’re all in. We’re trying cant” damage in her 5-acre vineyard, ically have frost protection, such as
to get some estimates and calculate particularly among Chardonnay windmills that pull warmer air from
grapes, which is typically the first higher altitudes and push it down to
that.”
Harry Peterson-Nedry, who variety to reach bud break.
the vineyard floor.
founded Ridgecrest Vineyards near
As for Pinot noir, the Willamette
At first blush, Tannahill said it
Newberg in 1980, said spring frost is Valley’s signature wine, Bellingar appears the crop load for A to Z
unusual in the Willamette Valley. The said more secondary buds are start- Wineworks may be down 10%,
last time he remembers it happening ing to emerge.
though that will likely change.
“We’re optimistic those will con-
was around Mother’s Day in 1985.
“We’ve got a long way to go
Ridgecrest Vineyards sits atop tinue to develop, but we are expect- before harvest,” he said. “There’s a
Ribbon Ridge and was on the cusp ing lower fruitfulness from the entire lot that can happen.”
Friday, May 6, 2022
Northern California
farmers facing water
cutbacks band together
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
FORT JONES, Calif. —
Farmers and ranchers in the
rural Scott Valley of Northern
California are banding together
to advocate for farms as the
area faces the potential loss of
100% of its irrigation water this
summer.
They call their new group
the Scott Valley Agriculture
Water Alliance, or Scott Valley
AgWA.
The group formed to edu-
cate the public about what it
calls “unfair” water regula-
tions issued by the State Water
Resources Control Board —
drought emergency regula-
tions for the Scott River, a trib-
utary of the Klamath River, that
would halt all irrigation if the
river dips below new minimum
levels.
A potential cutback this year
would be aimed at protecting
coho salmon.
In a letter to the water board
last summer, Karuk Tribe chair-
man Russel “Buster” Atte-
bery wrote that water users in
the Scott Valley “are de-water-
ing the last stronghold of coho
salmon in the Klamath Basin,
driving them to extinction.”
Sari Sommarstrom, a retired
watershed consultant and local
nursery tree owner who helped
found the new farmers’ alli-
ance, disagreed with Attebery’s
assessment.
“The river has not met the
board’s new flow requirements
in nine out of the past 11 sum-
mers,” she said. “Yet the data
show that coho returns have
nonetheless increased over the
past 20 years. We’re seeing
population levels that haven’t
been since the 1960s. Sadly, it’s
evident that these curtailments
are based on a false narrative.”
If the board cuts the water
allocation this year to protect
the salmon as expected, it won’t
be the first time. Last Aug. 30,
the water control board halted
all irrigation in the Scott Valley
Scott Valley AgWA
Scott Valley farmers in
Northern California have
formed a group to advo-
cate for the local agricul-
tural community in the face
of potential water curtail-
ments.
because the river didn’t meet the
new flow requirements.
The board has taken pub-
lic comments as it considers
re-adopting those curtailments.
The alliance of farmers is
mobilizing to educate the pub-
lic, including officials, in the
lead-up to the board’s decision.
“The No. 1 goal (of this
group) is to tell our side of
what’s happening in this water
crisis in Scott Valley,” Theo-
dora Johnson, spokeswoman for
the group and a sixth-generation
Scott Valley cattle rancher. “It’s
an existential threat to farming.”
The group is comprised of
about 15 major area farms, and
Johnson said another 15 or more
are preparing to join.
Johnson said farmers in
Scott Valley have few resources
available to them in the case of
another shutoff because growers
in the valley have no reservoirs
and face limits on groundwater
pumping.
“Our third-generation dairy,
organic since 2016, is our liveli-
hood,” Scott Valley dairy farm-
ers Connor and Cricket Martin
said in a statement. “It is import-
ant for us to be able to share it
with the next generation. If the
water curtailments continue,
that won’t be an option.”
YOU’D NEVER EXPECT A ROOSTER TO LAY EGGS.
And you’d never expect just any fungicide to prevent white mold.
When you need eff ective and reliable protection for your canola
and dry bean fi elds, Endura ® fungicide is a no brainer.
Always read and follow label directions. Endura is a registered trademark of BASF.
© 2022 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.