Journal | May 8, 2021

Hardscrabble Journal

© Anne-Catherine Fallen

© Anne-Catherine Fallen

Hail No

Yesterday evening we had hail. Hail is the the greatest fear of any winegrower. In five minutes it can turn a perfect season into a disaster. Hail is our unspeakable four-letter word.

But this time the vines are OK. There are different degrees of hail size and intensity. Yesterday’s event was hail lite. Small (less than pea sized), slushy balls accompanied by only light winds. It also came at a “good” time as tender green shoots are only starting to emerge. Their tiny, tight flowers clusters are much more resilient than fully formed, juicy grapes. Damage was insignificant with only a couple of tears in larger leaves. Bullet dodged. This time.

In 1998 we experienced the hailstorm from Hell. June 15 at 3:35 to be exact. 60 mph winds and marble sized stones stripped most of the leaves and clusters off of the vines. 80% of the crop was lost and the vines were badly damaged. That experience stays with you forever.

So whenever we hear a forecast with the words “hail potential” we worry. Whenever we see red on the radar we panic. And whenever green clouds approach from the west, we cower.

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Hardscrabble JournalJim Law2021