Cold nights in North Coast hitting vineyards hard

 

SANTA ROSA (AP) — Cold nights across the North Coast are hitting vineyards throughout the region hard.

After a long string of unseasonably low nighttime temperatures, officials estimate as much as 10 to 15 percent of Sonoma County’s $400 million crop has been lost to frost damage.

The cold weather also is hurting vineyards in Mendocino and Lake counties, where damage to the crop is expected to be about 20 percent. In Napa County, a spokesman for Napa Valley Vintners says there has been little damage because most growers have adequate frost protection.