SOUTHAMPTON — The freezing temperatures in the early morning hours of Thursday in Hampshire County represented a very real threat to Glendale Ridge Vineyard’s 2020 grape crop. So, Ed Hamel, who co-owns the vineyard with his wife, Mary, made sure to take action.
Hamel said that building protective fires to protect vines is a common tactic; he decided to build them with hay because he could get it from his next door neighbor.
“We set up all those hay bales the day before,” he said. “We were ready to go.”
Hamel and Alex Bienvenue, the vineyard’s production winemaker, started lighting fires in the hay — the bales were partially broken down the day before — at around 4:20 a.m. Thursday to protect about an acre of grapes. Hamel said the vines they were protecting, Cabernet Franc vines, are going through a bud burst, which makes them more vulnerable to frost.
“It was all about preservation of the buds,” said Hamel, who explained that damage to buds can effectively destroy a vine’s grape yield.
Hamel also noted that they had the permission of the fire department to light the fires at the vineyard, which is located off of Glendale Road.
According to the National Weather Service, on Thursday morning, Springfield had a low of 28 degrees, and Worthington had a low of 30 degrees, as did Amherst and Leverett. Hamel said the temperature at the vineyard was 29 to 30 degrees at 3:30 a.m. and that it dropped lower while he and Bienvenue worked.
Hamel and Bienvenue’s efforts to fight off the freezing cold were successful, and at around 6:30 a.m., they shared a bottle of some of the vineyard’s champagne-style wine, Pétillant Naturel, to celebrate.
“It was honestly a sincere celebration tasting,” he said. “And it tasted delicious.”
Hamel said he religiously watches the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast, and he believes that Thursday morning was the last frost danger of spring.
“We’re moving into better weather,” he said.
Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the NWS forecast office for Boston/Norton, said that while no further frost dangers were apparent as of Thursday, “I’m not going to rule it out right now.”
Glendale Ridge Vineyard has been around for three years, though Hamel noted that he first planted vines on the property in 2010. In his previous career, Ed Hamel was a contractor, while Mary Hamel worked as a dental hygienist.
While they managed to protect their grapes from the frost, the COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered the vineyard’s tasting room operation.
“That business is gone right now,” said Hamel.
The vineyard currently sells wines Thursday through Sunday with “absolute minimal” contact. Customers order and pay online and then pick up their wine from a table at the vineyard.
“If we can hold ground and break even, we’re going to be happy,” Hamel said.
While bottle sales in April were roughly the same as last year, the sales for May are down at the moment, he said.
Since they closed the tasting room in March, the Hamels have been donating 10% of their sales to charity. The Northampton Survival Center was the first group to receive a donation (it received over $4,000 total) from the couple, Hamel said. The vineyard is currently donating 10% of its sales to The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
“We’ve had a pretty good life,” Hamel said. “We know there’s a lot of people who are struggling out there right now.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.