Linden Update | May 22, 2026

I Don't Know 

This spring “I don’t know” has been my reply to most questions concerning this growing season. This is my 47th year growing winegrapes. It feels like it could be my first. I truly don’t know what to expect of vintage 2026. 

A warm (hot) March and April pushed the vines to bud break a few weeks early. Then there was the frost. An April 21 frost is not unusual, but it used to be that the vines were still mostly dormant and unaffected by the cold. Our frost damage here at Hardscrabble ranged from 0% to 100% depending on where you were standing. This presents a complexity of vineyard management that I am still trying to wrap my head around. 

The three weeks after the frost were unseasonably cool. Nothing was happening. The healthy vines grew at a snail’s pace and the frosted vines stayed brown with no regrowth, which was alarming. Every few days I would make a shallow cut through the wood of these vines to make sure they were still green and alive.

Then late last week came the heat. An explosion of growth that sent us scrambling to start tying new tender succulent shoots. These shoots are fragile and, if unsecured to the trellis wires, they could break during a gusty thunderstorm. Many vines were already lacking enough shoots as a result of the frost. We did manage to tie most of the susceptible vines before Wednesday’s big storms.

Now it rains. We need the rain, but not a week’s worth (as predicted). This could reduce the potential crop, as many vines have started to flower. Pollination succeeds best under warm, dry conditions.

I feel like we are being tested.

 
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Linden UpdatesJim Law2026