Midwest Wine Press

Winter Damage Report From Ohio

by · March 9, 2015

It was a cold February in Ohio.  The -17F reading in Cleveland on February 20th was the coldest temperature recored in Cleveland during February.  East of Cleveland and not far from prime grape growing areas, the city of Chardon, OH crashed to -29F on the same frigid night.

Needless to say, grapevines were damaged, as reported by the Ashtabula Star Beacon.  (The Star Beacon does a much better job of covering Northern Ohio wine than the much larger Cleveland Plain Dealer.)

One interesting item from Star Beacon story titled Despite Rough Winter, Winemakers Optimistic 2015 Will Be Better, is Tony Debevc of Debonne Vineyards comment that last year’s cold wiped out “native” grapes like Catawba and Concord too.

Midwest wineries can survive by buying juice and grapes from other regions, but we really need a good crop in 2016.

 

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

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