Virginia wineries are reeling after a freeze caused widespread damage to vines throughout the state.
Low temperatures hit well below freezing Tuesday, April 21 with a temperature of 25 degrees recorded in Etlan, a large swing from just days prior when highs hit 90 degrees on April 15, beating the previous record of 84.
The warm temperatures caused buds to break early, leaving them subject to the cold blast. The Virginia Wineries Association (VWA) reported substantial damage across the state which will significantly impact the 2026 Virginia wine vintage. The association reported that the unseasonably low temperatures, which occurred during a “critical stage of vine development, just after budbreak,” affected vineyards in multiple regions.
“This is a challenging moment for Virginia’s winegrowers,” VWA President George Hodson said. “Budbreak had progressed ahead of historical norms due to a warm early spring, leaving vines especially vulnerable. While it is still early to quantify the full extent of the damage, the impact on the 2026 vintage will be meaningful.”
Revelation Vineyards owner Francoise Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said her vines were heavily impacted by the freeze. Revelation utilizes two locations to grow vines–one in the Hebron Valley and the other in Reva. She said the Hebron Valley vineyard was more impacted. She said earlier budding varieties were more impacted, including Chardonnay.
“We can already see that 80% of our Chardonnay have leaves that are wilted and brown because of freeze damage,” Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said. “Meanwhile, Vidal Blanc is mostly unscathed.”
She said 50% of the primary buds may have been lost, but hopefully the secondary buds will come out in two to three weeks. Those buds are approximately 50% fruitful, while the primary buds are the most fruitful in grape production.
“At that point, we will know for sure how much the frost affected us,” Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said.
She’s hopeful the impact will just be a reduced yield and said the quality of the fruit will depend on the rest of the season. Revelation’s last two harvests were good and the wine inventory can carry the vineyard for a season. Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said the verjus production will be prioritized this year as there’s usually only enough for one year.
In Etlan, DuCard Vineyards suffered a similar impact from the freeze.
“We got hit pretty hard across all three of our sites including, for the first time ever at our Etlan estate location,” owner Scott Elliff said. “We are still assessing, but expect a loss of 50% or more.”
At Magnolia Vineyards in Amissville, approximately 80% of the Petit Verdot was lost along with approximately a 50% loss of Cabernet Sauvignon which wasn’t fully in bud break. Other varieties weren’t as impacted since they hadn’t fully bloomed, said owner, winemaker and general manager Tina Marchione.
John Guevremont, owner of Quievremont Vineyard and Winery, said his winery lost approximately 50% of its Chardonnay grapes which are located in the bottom of the vineyard slope where cold air accumulates. All other varieties fared well, he said, without any major damage other than some random loss, less than 5%.
“The Monday-Tuesday freeze was not particularly unusual, though it seems as we are getting these freezing temperatures at the worst time, being bud break when the young leaves are most sensitive,” Guevremont said.
Still, he said other than the reduced volume of grapes and thus wine, the freeze shouldn’t impact wine quality. He said any weather-related impacts on the wine occur late in the season.
A dry, sunny August and September concentrates sugars and flavors in the grapes resulting in a positive impact, but he said the tail end of hurricanes tend to occur in September with the associated cloud cover and rain diluting the sugar and possibly accelerating rot. In those instances, Guevremont said they harvest early and concentrate on making light reds and roses. The white grapes are typically ready for harvest earlier and aren’t impacted.
For Guevremont, the secondary bud break has not only a lower yield, but isn’t harvested until later in the season increasing chances for pest and rot problems.
“Seldom do we harvest secondary fruit as the labor, pest control and processing makes this harvest not worth the effort,” he said.
Things were better for Early Mountain Vineyards. The winery’s Quaker Run vineyard, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, fared well. It’s the source of the premier red wines and had close to zero damage due to the steep slopes of the vineyard. The vineyard adjacent to the winery in Madison didn’t fare as well with damage occurring. However, director of marketing Bekah Erkel said the vines are deliberately planted on the tops of the rolling hills with the damage impacting the lower lying areas.
“Many of the affected vines were Petit Manseng which has a higher than average ability to push out new shoots after such an event,” she said. “I suspect that overall our crop will be down 15-20% because of the freeze. A weather event like this is always humbling and serves as a reminder of the importance of site selection within and across vineyards and varietal selection as some varieties like Petit Manseng have a greater chance of recovery.”
Erkel said Early Mountain will have a bit less wine this year, but there are a few solid vintages in the pipeline so there’s no fear of running out. She said she’s already hoping for a bigger harvest next year.
To combat low temperatures, vineyard owners and wine makers rely on a variety of mechanisms including wind turbines, plane flyovers and burn barrels. It’s the last one that Revalation and Magnolia Vineyards depend on.
“We pack barrels with wood and light them a few hours before the crucial temperature,” Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said. “It takes three days to prepare the two vineyards [which is] about 20 acres. And, a sleepless night.”
She said the vineyard would welcome any barrel donations to assist in combating low temperatures.
Early Mountain makes use of wind machines.
“These large fans mix the cold air that is settling down with the slightly warmer air above and this action can dramatically reduce the risk of damage,” Erkel said. She added that it’s also important to keep the vineyard floor mowed low as the soil can retain heat from the sun during the day and mowing the grass creates more space for the cold air to settle below the vines.
However, for some vineyards, combating the cold temperatures isn’t always economically viable.
“Temperature drop and duration, labor and equipment all factor into the decision,” Guevremont said. “I have opted to supplement any losses, if necessary, by purchasing grapes.”
Marchione said it may be difficult to find Virginia grapes to purchase since the freeze was widespread. She said their preference is to not go out of state for fruit or juice. However, like Revalation, Magnolia Vineyards has inventory from previous years that will keep the winery going.
In the meantime, people can support their local wineries by visiting and drinking Virginia wine.
“Only 5% of the wine consumed in the Commonwealth is Virginia wine,” Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said. “The best way to find the Virginia wines one likes is by visiting local wineries. Once you’ve found some that you like, joining the wine club can be an easy way to keep getting the latest vintages.”
Erkel agreed.
“Our industry depends on the support of customers across Virginia and the wider DMV region,” she said. “This will be a tough year for many wineries and growers–lower crop in the vineyard–but we still have inventory from prior vintages that we are excited to sell and share.”
