The resilience of Washington

snowy vineyard scene, mid April 2022 in Washington

Sam reports on responses to frost in the Pacific Northwest. Above, a Washington vineyard in mid April.

Last year on 12 April, Matthew Hayes published A frost report from Burgundy. This year on 12 April, growers in Washington would have been two days into fighting to keep their crop. ‘In 40+ years of farming, I’ve never seen a weather system like it’, says Chris Figgins of Leonetti Cellar, Figgins Family Wine Estates and Toil Oregon.

It seems that the US Pacific Northwest has felt and may continue to feel the effects of the polar vortex collapse that happened in...