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It's harvest season in Virginia wine country, but visit some vineyards and you may notice a crucial element missing: the grapes.

Why it matters: April's devastating freeze, which walloped the local apple season, is now reshaping what Virginia wineries make — and what wine lovers will eventually find in tasting rooms, shops and restaurants.

• Expect fewer bottles of some favorite whites, more blends and unusual wines born out of necessity.
• Many wineries have enough inventory from fruitful years to cushion the blow. The real squeeze could come later.

The big picture: A late-April hard freeze sent temperatures into the 20s across much of Virginia just as vulnerable vines were budding, causing widespread losses that resulted in a federal disaster declaration. Then came the drought.

• Some growers lost their entire crop. Vineyards at higher elevations tended to fare better.

Zoom in: At Boxwood Estate Winery in Middleburg, one of Virginia's premier producers, winemaker Sean Martin says the estate lost over 90% of its white varietals.

• A typical harvest yields 70-90 tons of grapes for nine wines. This year, Boxwood was left with less than 6 tons.
• Rather than stretch that tiny harvest, Boxwood is putting it all toward one $60 sparkling wine.
• "We just felt that was the best return we could get on the fruit," Martin says of the Crémant.

Reality check: Wineries aren't running dry. Boxwood and other established producers have enough inventory that they won't feel the full sales impact immediately.

• Whites and rosés from this harvest normally wouldn't be bottled until spring; reds could take two years.
• More concerning: Martin estimates about 10% of Boxwood's vines died and will need to be replanted.

Meanwhile, Slater Run Vineyards in Upperville lost roughly 75% of its crop and dropped the remaining fruit from its battered white vines rather than further stress them.

• Slater Run normally makes up to 3,000 cases. This year, winemaker Preston Thomas expects as few as 520.
• With consumers gravitating toward whites and rosés, the winery is turning much of its surviving red fruit into pink wine.
• It's also pulling some whites from its tasting-room menu to stretch inventory through next year.

⬇️ Filling the grape gap

The Virginia grapes that survived April's freeze are suddenly hot commodities.

Between the vines: Virginia wineries could solve the grape shortage by looking out of state. But after decades building a hard-won reputation around local wine, many don't want to.

• "There's a lot of pride in Virginia wine," Preston Thomas of Slater Run says.

Zoom in: Hazy Mountain Vineyards & Brewery in the Blue Ridge Mountains normally harvests around 160 tons but expects only 20 this year.

• Production director Jason Hayman says grapes he recently put on the market were spoken for in about a day versus the typical week.
• "People basically called and said, 'We'll take whatever you have,'" says Hayman, who raised prices about 20%.

The intrigue: The grape scramble could produce some unique wines.

• Growers and winemakers expect more blends and non-vintage wines as producers mix varietals and vintages to fill gaps.

Michael Shaps, who's been making wine in Virginia for 32 years, says some producers are bringing in outside fruit.

• Shaps isn't making wine under his own Virginia label this year, instead selling his grapes to the dozen-plus wineries for which he makes wine.
• "The big question mark is what happens next year if there's another weather event," Shaps says. "A lot of wineries won't survive."

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D.C. will be considering tax increases very soon, including a pied-à-terre tax.

Why it matters: D.C.'s economy is flashing red: 36,000 jobs have been lost since last year, the city's 5.7% unemployment is higher than the U.S. average, and home prices are declining.

The big picture: The DOGE tailspin continues to weaken the economy. As D.C. grapples with rising costs of education, health care services, and other city programs, council members find themselves eyeing tax increases.

Ideas include:

• Pied-à-terre tax: A tax on upscale D.C. homes that aren't an owner's primary residence at 2.5% annually, per CityCast, raising an estimated $130 million over four years. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has another version, too, ensuring this topic will get a lot of debate.
• Sales tax: Council members will consider raising it from 6% to 7%.
• Wealth tax: Passive income — like capital gains on stocks and other investments — would get a 3% surcharge under a bill to be debated. It would apply to individuals making more than $400,000 per year, or married couples making over $500,000.

What's ahead: Those and many other proposals will be tackled at a big hearing on Oct. 16.

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✂️ If a helipad ribbon is cut, and no TV network shows it ... nope, no sound. President Trump was inaudible during a press conference yesterday after the TV pool suspended coverage as blowback for Trump banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico last week.

• The outlets filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to restore their access. (Axios)

📉 U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is touting a summer crime crackdown, with a federal-MPD partnership seizing 533 firearms and more than 160 kilograms of illegal drugs and arresting 28 "known gang members," her office announced yesterday.

• Among the cases: an alleged MDMA trafficking operation near Catholic University.

🎃 Capital Weather is calling it: Summer's done, with highs dropping into the 60s today and tomorrow as fall officially arrives.

• The declaration comes after a bruising 50 days at or above 90 degrees and the region's eighth-hottest meteorological summer on record. (Capital Weather)

Cheers: It's Negroni Week, with 40+ bars pouring riffs on the classic for good causes.

🥂 Plus: Tales of the Cocktail continues its D.C. tour today, with programming at The Square and events around town — including Vagabond's porn star martini competition tonight.

🍅 Anna is ready for stew season, but is enjoying one last homemade gazpacho.

🎶 Mimi is listening to Sierra Hull after seeing her at the Birchmere last night.

⛽️ Cuneyt is feeling the pain of diesel prices at the pump (it's like Dieselgate 2.0 over here).

This newsletter was edited by Alexa Mencia Orozco.