Update on April Freeze Fallout: Hudson Valley Fruit Farmers Seek Community Support
Inside+Out Upstate NY
By Terry Roethlein
July 20, 2026
“I can’t wrap my head around it because it’s just so devastating,” says fruit farmer and winemaker Dan Heavens as he tries to quantify the losses caused by the catastrophic late-spring frost that hit the Mid-Hudson Valley on April 21. Heavens, who has owned and operated Quartz Rock Vineyard and Nightingale Farm in Marlboro NY, with his wife, Jacqui Ferrari Heavens, for six years, estimates that he lost 50% of his grape harvest and suffered heavy damage to many of the apple, stone fruit, and cherry trees in his orchards.
The Vidal Blanc grapes that produce Quartz Rock’s popular dry white wine were decimated and won’t be available at all, says Heavens. Along with a 50% loss of Cabernet Franc grapes used for their award-winning medium-bodied red wine, this has significantly impacted revenue for future years to come. Among the most impacted wineries in the Hudson Valley, Quartz Rock produces only estate wines and ciders, meaning grapes or apples from outside farms can’t be substituted when a loss like this takes place. “That’s 75% of revenue gone, and there’s nothing you can do to replace it,” Heavens states flatly.
Extreme Weather Leads To Desperate Measures
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 21, 2026, temperatures in the Hudson Valley fell below freezing, into the low 20s, for an extended period of time over two days. Crucially, the cold weather event took place after four days of inordinately high temperatures in the 80s and 90s that caused fruit trees and plants to blossom early. The late spring frost crystallized moist air and severely damaged or killed the tender new buds (encapsulating the seed) that would have yielded apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, and stone fruits (such as peaches and plums) for this year’s harvest.