THOMPSON, Ohio — Tracy Hundley is mourning, in a way.
"It's a loss and there's nothing you can do about it. What's done is done."
At Hundley Cellars in Geneva, Mother Nature dropped a blanket of frost on Tracy's newly-budded vines during Wednesday night into Thursday morning. While some of the vines, like Niagara, are okay, others were lost. That included the less-hardy Reisling and French Hybrid vines.
"That's one of the toughest things, you know. I cried," she told 3News. "Nothing could survive what happened last night."
Tracy told us that she was outside at 6:20 on Thursday morning, checking for damaged vines. She found buds that were fully-frozen.
Those buds, now shriveling in the May sunshine, are all that remains of the first shoots of 2023. But all is not lost.
"There is an opportunity for them to push secondaries, which we're hoping for," Tracy explained.
That could mean lower yields, but any grapes that come from these vines would bring comfort.
"You work so hard and you pour your heart and soul and love," Tracy added. "Farming's not just about money it's about love. Trust me, no one gets into farming for the money you have to have a love for it."
More from Carl Bachtel: