NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — This summer was shaping up to be an especially good year for Niagara County grape growers and wineries — until a freak hail shower hit the region July 20.
Flooding affected several farms, but it was three rounds of hail – some pieces larger than a quarter – that decimated clusters of grapes, leaving owners scrambling to salvage grapes they need to bottle wine in the 2022 and 2023 season.
Duncan and Robin Ross, who own Arrowhead Spring Vineyard, expect to lose up to 80% of their 30,000 vines. Their worst year up to now was a 20% loss about 10 years ago, also due to hail.
