Fighting Frost at Black Chalk
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
This week it's been sunshine by day, but in the vineyard, it’s what happens after dark that truly keeps us on our toes.
As temperatures drop under those clear night skies, the threat of frost becomes very real, especially now, with delicate new buds emerging across our vines. These tiny shoots represent the entire promise of the 2026 harvest, and protecting them is nothing short of essential.
So, when the mercury begins to fall, our vineyard transforms into a hive of quiet, determined activity and that’s where our frost-fighting toolkit comes into play!
One of our key lines of defence is our frost guards. These static machines are strategically positioned across the vineyard, particularly in known frost pockets, ensuring we have coverage where it’s needed most. Running on gas and requiring no water source, they allow us to protect even the most remote or challenging sites.
Rather than a constant output, the frost guards emit a powerful pulse of hot air every seven to ten minutes. This timed burst does two important things: it helps evaporate forming ice on the vine surfaces, and it feeds energy back into any remaining ice through passing warm air. In fact, this system allows us to safeguard our vines with only a fraction of the energy used by many other frost protection methods. This is a crucial advantage during long, cold spring nights when efficiency matters just as much as effectiveness. It all helps keep our Vineayrds as sustainable as possible.
But when conditions become more severe, we call in our secret weapon.
Enter the Fog Dragon!
This formidable machine was specifically developed to combat radiation frost, the type of springtime ground frost responsible for the vast majority of vineyard damage. And it doesn’t just look impressive; it’s remarkably powerful and efficient, with a single Fog Dragon capable of protecting up to 10 hectares of vines.
At its core is a combustion chamber where fuel is ignited, generating intense heat. As the machine is towed through the vineyard, a fan driven via the tractor’s PTO shaft draws in air through regulated intakes, helping to control and stabilise combustion while cooling the system. This process produces a consistent, evenly distributed stream of warm air.
That heated air is then mixed with flue gases and further enhanced by water injected via a high-pressure pump from an onboard tank. This increases the density of the outgoing air, creating a warm, moisture-rich fog that settles low over the vineyard, like an insulating blanket.
The effects are threefold:
It generates heat, raising the ambient temperature around the vines
It circulates air, blending warmer and cooler layers near the surface
And it traps heat radiating from the earth in the form of infrared
energy, preventing it from escaping into the night sky
In essence, it creates a protective microclimate, a layer of moving warmth and vapour that shields the vines from the freezing air above. It’s an extraordinary sight, sparks and rolling clouds of smoke drifting between the rows, machinery humming softly in the darkness, and a team keeping careful watch.
And thanks to a combination of innovation, experience, and a little fiery dragon power, we’re ready for whatever these Spring nights may bring!