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78 WINES&VINES October 2015 1950. The impact of cold temperatures is greater in the 1990s, due to increased planting of cold-tender vinifera cultivars. When reports in the winter-spring of 2013- 14 quantified severe winter kill to wine grape buds, few thought that such unprecedented cold would happen again soon. Unfortunately, the assumption was wrong. Many sites in Michigan's viticultural regions suffered mul- tiple evenings of severe low temperatures in February and March 2015. The Michigan State University Enviro-weather system recorded temperatures at -15° F or lower on six dates from Feb. 15 through March 5 at several loca- tions in Michigan, with -20° F on Feb. 20 re- corded as the coldest reading. Another climate condition made this even more problematic in 2015: There was much less snow cover, decreasing the natural insula- tion layer typically offered by a normal season's snowfall. As a result, more of the perennial wood and buds were exposed to full effects of the severe cold episodes in 2015 compared to the year prior, and the results were truly devastating. Conclusion The 2014 and 2015 winters have been a force- ful reminder that cultivar choice and site selec- tion are still the most important tools we have against potential damage and loss from low winter temperature exposure. Once those deci- sions are made and vines are planted, we need to be smart about our viticultural practices and adjust when Mother Nature (or your bottom line) demands it. While we need to prune vines Hauser Packaging Quality European Bottles • DIAM Corks Custom Packaging • Finger Lakes Warehouse 888-600-2671 • hauserpack.com - B E C O PA D - Y E A S T & E N Z Y M E S - C R U S H PA D E Q U I P M E N T - S T E R I L E F I LT R AT I O N - W I N E R Y H O S E - O A K A LT E R N AT I V E S EASTERN WINE LABS Serving the Analytical needs of East Coast Wineries WWW.EASTERNWINELABS.COM Ph 609-859-4302 Cell 609-668-2854 chemist@easternwinelabs.com AOAC Member EasternWineLab_Mar09.qxp 1/22/09 9:47 AM Page 1 An average of the five lowest temperatures from each year (1950-2015) in southwest Michigan. Year Temperature (°F) -26 -24 -22 -20 -18 -16 -14 -12 -10 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 GRAPEGROWING WINE EAST