Vineyards are subject to the whims of Mother Nature

At estate wineries like Dale Hollow, the winemakers are farmers first, tending their vines and dealing with whatever Mother Nature dishes up. Season to season, the vines have to adapt and weather storms, heat, humidity and freezing temperatures. Sometimes the vines don't make it through something like a sudden cold snap, which is what happened to the Cayuga vines at Dale Hollow.

Luckily, the vines are showing signs of life, putting up suckers that normally would be trimmed off. Instead, Jesse is going to nurture the new growth, which will hopefully bear fruit in four to five years, which points out another challenge for vintners. It takes grape vines years to produce fruit, so if a vineyard is damaged, it will take years for the grape production to recover.