US: Ontario wine producers look for solutions to extreme weather threats

One extremely cold day last winter was all it took to cause widespread damage to Bill Redelmeier's wine crops. Months later, the destruction was in full sight at Southbrook Vineyards, an organic winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Vine shoots were growing shorter than they would in a typical year, if they were growing at all. Black netting used to protect the vines hadn't been rolled down on several rows considered too spoiled to save. Some leaves were already turning brown, while the grapes on plants that did produce fruit showed damage in their consistency and colour. They're all signs of vascular injury inside the plants stemming from the mid-January cold snap -- which was catastrophic not just for Redelmeier, but for grape growers across Niagara Region's wine country in southern Ontario. "It takes an hour. That's all the time it takes," Redelmeier said as he surveyed the vineyard in September. The freezing event that Redelmeier estimated has reduced his winery's output by 75 ...