Cold, ice cold

Radiation frosts are the result of some of the most beautiful days. Sunny, warm, clear and still. Followed by some of the sweetest evenings. Fresh, star-filled, yet eerily quiet. The sun, gaining in strength, is now able to warm the soil surface sufficiently. This creates a difference in temperature as the cool night descends. The warmer air above the soil surface rises and the cooler air above that, slips in below. If the night time temperature is close enough to zero, you’ll be frosted.

During the last days of October, just as we were starting to shoot thin, with most vines past the 5-leaf stage, we got frosted. The lower areas of the vineyard got well below zero, for several hours. Whilst we appreciate the helping hand, the frost may have shoot-thinned a little too heavy, leaving most of the vines to start again. We thank mother nature for her polite introduction to vine growing. We really look forward to working with her in the future.