Pruning

Part of the art of growing grapes. The winter solace to the vines. .Cane pruning or Spur pruning? Spur pruning is fast. Snip, snip and you done. Cane pruning requires patience and care. To cane prune we lay down and tie new canes along the trellis wire being careful to leave the required buds for next years canes. Our preference is to prune to the cane method whenever possible. We spend 30 to 35 hours per acre pruning. Why do we take the longer route? A number of reasons all resulting in a higher quality grape. Cane pruning creates consistent distribution of vines along the wire rather than clusters of vines. This gives us better canopy management for light and air flow. Cane pruning removes a lot more old wood that can harbor overwintering pests and old wood is a burdensome sink on the vine. Cane pruning causes higher consistency of bud break resulting in a consistent ripening at harvest.