A brutal late April frost has turned Virginia and Maryland wine country into a damage report, wiping out large swaths of the 2026 grape crop and leaving some vineyards staring at rows of frozen shoots where this year’s vintage was supposed to be. Wineries of all sizes are already bracing for fewer bottles, smaller harvests, and potential staff cuts. Tasting rooms that count on spring and summer visitors may have to raid the cellar, juggle release dates, or both. Growers say the next few weeks will be critical in seeing how much fruit, if any, secondary buds can save.
In Maryland, Black Ankle Vineyards in Mount Airy reported total bud loss across roughly 100 acres and is projecting about $10 million in lost revenue, according to The Baltimore Banner. “We have never seen anything like this,” the winery’s communications manager told the paper, as crews walked frost-scorched rows that will not see a normal harvest this year.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture called the freeze “one of the most significant crop losses in recent memory” and urged affected growers to contact local Farm Service Agency offices, in a statement posted by the Maryland Department of Agriculture. WBAL-TV captured some of the overnight rescue attempts at several vineyards, including lighting fires between vine rows and hiring a helicopter to churn warmer air into the cold pockets settling over the fields…