As many of you are aware, we had record breaking temperature in March this year. With 9+ days over 80 degrees in Southwest Michigan, bud break was officially set March 21, 2012 – approximately one month ahead of a regular season. Due to the unforeseen circumstances of this spring weather, Mother Nature came back with a vengeance in April with some winter like conditions.

On April 13, 2012 we had a devastating freeze that damaged approximately 90% of our juice grape crop. Then again on April 20, 2012 temperatures plunged to 20F, causing damage in many of our wine grape vineyards. The final blow came April 27, 2012 when the temperatures again dipped down in the low 20s.

Although there has been damage, grapes are fortunate to have compound buds – meaning that if the primary bud is damaged/killed, it is likely that the secondary bud will push. If the secondary bud come to fruition, there will be significantly less amount of grapes produced.

So in “easy” terms, there will be a grape crop this year in Southwest Michigan, but it will be smaller than a normal year. We can however thank Mother Nature for naturally thinning our grapes, which should in turn produce delicious wines!

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