DELLWOOD, Minn. — Mild temperatures are impacting plants and trees in a variety of different ways, and Minnesota vineyards are now entering unprecedented territory.
“Last year I had to snowshoe through the whole vineyard, and I haven’t had to use any of my snowshoes this year,” said Geneva Knutson of 7 Vines Vineyard.
In fact, some of the workers on Knutson’s crew were pruning grape vines in t-shirts this week. That’s when they noticed something highly unusual.
“All these cuts I’m making, the other day, they were sticky to the touch. Which normally isn’t happening until March or even April,” said Knutson.
It means that the roots are starting to wake up and the sap is starting to flow.
“Everybody has been talking about this because it’s a big game-changer,” said Matt Scott.
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Scott is a general manager at 7 Vines Vineyard in Dellwood. He said if the vines try to produce grapes too early, and are hit by frost and snow, it could have a negative impact on the grape crop.