by Andrew Chalk
Reproduced below is a table from Pierre Helwi on vine damage in the Texas High Plains AVA from the October 2019 (Halloween) fall frost. Helwi is Assistant Professor and Extension Viticulture Specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, based in Lubbock and familiar to most High Plains growers.
The column headed “Damage” is grape types that suffered ‘severe’ damage. “I considered severe as the entire vine is dead or primary buds dead”, he told me in an interview. He cautioned that there were site differences “Not all sites behave the same and some of these varieties have done well. However the majority of the sites with these varieties were injured."
Given the High Plains vulnerability to frost the results are likely useful to growers making planting decisions.
Notes..
Cabernet Franc was seriously damaged, but it’s bro’ Cabernet Sauvignon not. I wonder how much this is attributable to site differences? It would be interesting to see the results for grape types planted in the same vineyard or site.
The late-budding Carménère grape is MIA. Bobby Cox once told me that this would be a very interesting grape to plant in the High Plains.
DAMAGE TO VINES IN THE TEXAS HIGH PLAINS AVA FROM THE OCTOBER 2019 'HALLOWEEN' FROST
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