abstract: his study set out to find how snow affects ground surface temperatures and to evaluate what kind of influence this has on grapevine growing. Temperatures were measured with digital maximum-minimum thermometers that stored the readings. The research shows that in winters when there is little snow, the correlation between ground surface temperature and air temperature is strong (R² = 0.93–0.99) because there is not enough snow to act as an insulator. In winters when there is plenty of snow, no such correlation exists (R² = 0.0001–0.3) because the thick layer of snow acts as an insulator and controls changes in ground surface temperature and air temperature. In very cold weather (-25.0 to -27.4°C), a thick layer of snow (61–67 cm) kept the ground surface minimum temperature at -0.5 to -1.3°C. A thin snow layer (18–32 cm) did not stop the ground surface temperature from falling; the ground surface temperature fell to -10.8°C when air temperature stayed within the same temperature range. In north Europe, central Europe and other cool wine-growing regions, a snowy winter prevents the ground from freezing and thus protects the vines from very cold temperatures.