For The Chesapeake Bay Journal
For the Maryland wine industry, climate change is a paradox. It has helped the industry diversify and expand as average annual temperatures rise. But last spring an extreme temperature swing, another hallmark of global warming, devastated vineyards across the state.
For several days in March, temperatures soared into the 80s across the region, 30 degrees higher than average. Sensing an end to their winter’s nap, grapevines in Maryland began budding out. Then came April 21, with several hours of temperatures in the mid-20s. Vineyard owners did what they could to protect those delicate buds, but for most the damage had been done…