Grape vines suffer major damage in N.S. from wild weather swings
Some grape varieties may have been completely lost in Nova Scotia when the mild winter suddenly turned frigid. Nathan Coleman talks to the growers.
A cold snap in early February killed 95 per cent of the Vitis vinifera variety of grapes grown in Nova Scotia, according to Grape Growers Association of Nova Scotia President Steve Ells.
"This is really an unprecedented event," Ells told The Weather Network.
The warmest winter on record meant grape vines in Nova Scotia didn't get as hardy or as acclimated to the cold weather as they normally do, and when the cold snap finally hit in early February, Ells said it was a recipe for disaster.
"It was almost a 30-degree swing in temperature in 12 hours," said Ells.
It can be difficult to tell whether or not the cold killed the plant while it's out in the field, but Nathan Coleman shows us how they do it in the video above, along with how the vineyards are planning to deal with potential cold snaps in the future.
