ASHLAND, Neb. (KMTV) — Customers showed up before Cellar 426 Winery opened on Mother's Day to celebrate — but what they didn't know is that the worst frost Amy and Richard Hilske have ever seen hit last weekend.
"I went out there myself and I'm like oh my okay and some tears did come to my eyes because it's pretty devastating when you see it," Amy Hilske said.
Richard makes the wine and Amy looks after the vineyard. Walking through the damage together, she explained what to look for.
"A nice long stem so they've grown out there's no damage to that as compared to something like this where it's really tight and small and all the brown clusters on there," Amy Hilske said.
Back inside, Amy called her mom to share the news and wish her a happy Mother's Day.
"Hello."
"Oh hello, hey mom."
"Why are you being interviewed?"
"For the damage for our grapes."
"Uh oh is there a lot of damage?"
"Yeah about thirty percent or so."
Richard can't call his mom.
"The sad part for me is she never was here when the winery was open," Richard Hilske said.
After suffering a stroke in 2012, she passed away in 2017.
When asked how he thought she would have felt seeing customers celebrating Mother's Day at the winery, Richard reflected on her reaction.
"I think well she would've been very impressed I'm sure she was skeptical that we could do a winery here in Nebraska and she was wondering how crazy we were," Richard Hilske said.
Richard grew up in Elkhorn and has lived in the area his whole life after his mom, Inge, immigrated to the U.S. from Germany. He said he's not afraid of a challenge like a big frost, thanks to the lessons his mother taught him.
"She was a big money saver she did a great job when times are tough so it helped us keep an open mind with money and not overspend," Richard Hilske said.
With affordability an issue for many families right now, the Hilskes are trying to attract more customers by offering extra live music and more sales.
"Wine's a fun purchase it's not like gas or food that you have to have," Richard Hilske said.
Now it's a waiting game for the Hilskes, who are expecting to need extra grapes from other growers after this season's losses. They'll know for sure how bad the damage is when it gets closer to harvesting time in August.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
