Maryland Wineries Lose Buds in Severe Frost

Maryland’s wineries are facing what growers and industry leaders describe as one of the most damaging late-season frosts in recent memory, after a sudden cold snap swept across the state early Tuesday and wiped out new grape buds just as the vines were beginning their spring growth.

At Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, workers lit fires before dawn and hired a helicopter to fly low over the vineyard in an effort to stir the air and protect the crop. At Esmé Vineyards in Westminster, owner Christopher Wilt said he did not realize the harvest had been lost until frost fogged the windshield of his golf cart at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. He spent hours moving from fire to fire across four acres of vines, trying to keep the temperature above freezing.

“I was in a kind of fugue state,” Wilt said. “To watch everything get colder and colder, you know you’re fighting against something that’s much bigger than you. It’s like an ant kicking an elephant.”

The freeze hit after an unusually warm stretch that had pushed grape buds into early growth, leaving them exposed when temperatures dropped into the mid-20s, about 10 degrees below the initial forecast, according to Black Ankle Vineyards communications manager Emma Pope. Black Ankle, based in Mount Airy, said all of its new buds were lost across more than 100 acres at several vineyards it manages.

Pope said the company expects about $10 million in lost revenue from roughly 20,000 cases of wine it will not produce. She said Black Ankle still has wine from earlier vintages to sell, but it does not expect operations to return to normal until 2029. The winery will also have to reduce labor costs and rely more heavily on stored bottles while it looks for ways to stretch what remains of its production.

“We have never seen anything like this,” Pope said. “But I do have full faith that we can come back.”

Rachel Lipman, owner of Loew Vineyards and vice president of the Maryland Wineries Association, said her vineyard also lost all of its new buds. She said the damage could lead to a multimillion-dollar loss for wineries across Maryland and could affect inventory for years, especially as vineyards begin drawing down their 2026 vintages.

“In the next year we might not have white wine to sell,” Lipman said.

The frost came at a difficult moment for Maryland’s wine industry, which has grown steadily over the past two decades. Jeff Lund, sales director at Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, said he first opened his winery 20 years ago when there were about 13 wineries in the state. Today there are more than 100, according to Joseph Fiola, a viticulture specialist with University of Maryland Extension.

Fiola said Maryland growers have learned a great deal about which grape varieties can succeed in the state’s climate, but they still face narrow margins because of shorter and less predictable seasons than those on the West Coast. He said the latest frost could mean higher prices and less local wine available over the next year or so.

“This setback follows decades of growth and innovation that have elevated Maryland’s reputation as a nationally recognized wine producer,” the Maryland Department of Agriculture said in a statement Wednesday. “For many growers, this marks their first experience with a frost event of this magnitude.”

Winemakers across the state used different methods to try to save their crops. Some burned wood or lit fires through the night. Others used fans or machines designed to move warmer air down into low-lying rows. At Boordy, staff applied potassium and copper earlier in the week before turning to fires and helicopter flights when those measures did not work.

At Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, Lund said he tried burning wood but found it too wet after recent rain. He then used what he called a “frost dragon,” a propane cannon attached to a tractor that blasts heat into the air, along with potassium sprays and very low mowing around the vines. Even so, he expected only a small temperature drop at his site and was surprised by how widespread the damage became.

“Every year there’s at least one scare,” Lund said. “A lot of times it barely hits freezing.”

This time was different, he said, because nearly every winery in Maryland appeared to be affected severely. He said pinot grigio, chardonnay, merlot and cabernet franc seemed especially hard hit. He is now considering blending wines differently to make more rosé and help offset losses in white wine production.

Lund also said he is watching his wholesale business closely. About 10% of Sugarloaf Mountain’s revenue comes from sales to nearly 100 restaurants and wine shops around Maryland. If he cannot supply those accounts this year, he said, some placements could be hard to win back later.

The damage is not evenly covered by insurance or aid programs. Black Ankle general manager Melissa Schulte said some policies can reimburse growers for vine death, but this frost killed buds rather than vines, which makes it harder for the winery to recover losses through insurance.

There is some funding available for growers affected by weather losses, but not every producer will qualify. For many wineries, that leaves them facing reduced production without immediate financial relief.

“People are quick to see wine as a luxury,” Pope said. “But it all starts with a farm.”