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24 WINES&VINES May 2015 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS L odi, Calif.—The storm that brought rain, thun- der and hail across much of California the week of April 6 caused extensive damage in some Lodi-area vineyards. Described like a Midwestern tornado that obliterates some houses yet leaves others un- touched on the same street, the storm shredded leaves and clus- ters in several vineyards, while others nearby were spared. "This is the worst hail storm I've ever seen, and I've been farm- ing for 30 years," said Tom Hoff- man, owner of Heritage Oak Winery and 130 acres of vines. Hoffman said he thinks he may have lost 30% to 50% of his entire Zinfandel crop and could lose more if damaged canes can't re- cover or snap off in a strong wind. The storm swept through April 7, bringing rain and several inches of much-needed snow to parched California, but not nearly enough to put a dent in the ongoing drought. Hoffman's son, Matt Hoffman, is the grower program coordinator for the Lodi Winegrape Commis- sion. He said there were reports of hail in the Sacramento-San Joa- quin River Delta to the west of Lodi and in the town of Lockeford, Calif., to the east. The most severe hail damage appeared to have oc- curred in vineyards to the west and north of Lodi city limits. Hoffman said damage reports ranged from complete defoliation and torn clusters to only partial leaves left with some cane bruis- ing. Based on what he's seen and heard so far though, Hoffman doesn't expect the storm to have caused enough damage to signifi- cantly affect the 2015 harvest. Lodi is one of California's major grapegrowing regions. Lo- cated within state Grape Pricing District 11, the region produced 674,176 tons of wine grapes in 2014. The city of Lodi is located in San Joaquin County, which is home to 94 wineries, according to the Wines Vines Analytics winery database. Lodi grower Brad Peterson said his family's ranch was in the path of a severe storm cell, which caused extensive damage. "The vines are shredded; the immediate damage has us losing at least 80% of the crop," he said. Peterson mentioned it's even more dire in his cherry orchards. "We will not be able to pick one cherry of our 20 acres. 100% loss." Heather Pyle, the winemaker at Lucas Winery, which she owns with her husband David Lucas, also said up to half their Zinfandel harvest could be a loss. Pyle said they wait to prune far longer than their neighbors, and as a result their Zinfandel vines had shoots only about 4 inches long and small clusters about an inch or less. The hailstones scraped off parts of the clusters and left scarring along the length of the tender shoots. On the up- side, some of the Lucas' shoots hadn't pushed yet. "I've never been in hail like that. Being a Cali- fornia girl, that's about the worst I've seen," she said. Neighboring vineyards with more advanced vegetative growth fared better. Vines with thicker canopy and Zinfandel clusters of about three inches in length sur- Grapevines Shredded in Lodi Hail Storm Let your wines speak directly to their target markets through premier packaging. Select from our premium bottles or custom design the ideal bottle, pewter label or other packaging solution to promote and sell your fagship wines. East Coast usa@estal.info 305 443-7451 West Coast info@globalpackage.net 707 224-5670 A Package Speaks a Thousand Words GP144368 One grapegrower from Lodi, Calif., reported up to 80% crop loss as a result of the April 7 hailstorm. TOM HOFFMAN