Maryland's Wine Crop Only 25% of What Was Expected Before Spring Freeze

Only 1,930 tons of grapes were expected to be harvested by Maryland vineyards – that's just 25% of what the state's winegrowers had expected before a devastating freeze that stretched from New York State to Virginia.

Spring 2025 was strange. Temperatures were expectionally warm – in the 90s, with many of us joking we were glad we hadn't gone to Florida for Spring break. And then temperatures plunged to the teens and mid-20s across much of the mid-Atlantic.

The financial impact, according to the Maryland Wineries Assocaition: a wine value loss of $30.4 million, estimated cost of labor, sprays and maintenance, damaged grapes potential value if sold to other wineries of almost $3.7 million, and other fruit lost for cider/fruit wine, more than $23,000.

Some 62% of those surveyed by MWA said they expect reduced yields, and 30% said maybe.