| Nearly two months have passed since the first | | | | in my mind, one of the big advantages of cane |
| installment about pruning. Here in the Rogue Valley | | | | pruning, compared to the relative clutter of |
| we've spent much of that time waiting and | | | | growth at each spur. |
| worrying. It has been cold, and very wet, and our | | | | Which would I rather shoot-thin? One can see |
| vines are off to a slow start. On May 6th we had | | | | that there is fairly little to do to the cane, while |
| a frosty night, with temperatures dipping several | | | | the thinning of just two spurs on a cordon |
| degrees below freezing and causing some | | | | required some careful work on this Sauvignon |
| damage to the tender, young shoots. | | | | Blanc at Upper Five Vineyard. |
| From an academic perspective, these are | | | | Terry Sullivan has chosen cordon pruning, with its |
| interesting times to evaluate the pros and cons of | | | | orderly rows of short spurs, for his vineyard for |
| the two main pruning techniques, spur and cane. | | | | the simple reason that he doesn't like to cane |
| From a vineyard management perspective, | | | | prune. Regardless of his motivations, it seems a |
| however, it is downright annoying. The results of | | | | wise choice considering the vigor of his Sauvignon |
| the frost will be felt throughout the growing | | | | Blanc, and the wider spaces between vines to |
| season, requiring additional hand-work and a sharp | | | | accommodate its growth habit. Cane pruning can |
| eye to spot the shoots and clusters which, having | | | | be troublesome at spacing greater than six feet |
| formed from secondary buds when the primary | | | | between vines, so the permanent cordon makes |
| one got frozen, will be ripening fruit (if at all) at a | | | | sense here. |
| pace behind that of the majority of the vineyard. | | | | Still, just like the pruning process itself, the |
| We will have to be vigilant early on about | | | | resulting shoot-thinning process is more repetitive |
| removing any fruit which threatens to be unripe | | | | and simple with the spur, and more nuanced and |
| at harvest time. | | | | subjective with the cane. When evenness and |
| Upon inspection at Gold vineyard, the spur-pruned | | | | consistency are the goal, the spur is difficult to |
| plants appeared to have done a little better in the | | | | get wrong, and so is currently the preferred |
| cold, if only because at each spur position there | | | | choice of most winegrowers in this region. |
| were five or six green shoots, so there was | | | | We would be wise to remember, however, that |
| some insurance against loss of the uppermost | | | | the first buds on every new shoot in 2010, |
| (albeit the most fruitful) ones. The vines with | | | | whether it grows from a cane or a spur, are |
| canes that were frosted, however, will likely have | | | | forming in unfavorably cool conditions, which will |
| areas devoid of healthy shoots and will yield a | | | | tend to restrict their fruitfulness in the following |
| reduced crop as a result. | | | | year. Spur-pruned vines in particular may shower |
| Still, there are plenty of very healthy-looking | | | | fewer, smaller clusters in 2011 because of this |
| shoots out there like the Viognier from Gold | | | | cold spring. The good news is that this can |
| vineyard. The cane-pruned example shows how | | | | sometimes mean less work thinning the crop |
| nicely this pruning method provides a well-spaced, | | | | down, and may even bode well for a low-yielding, |
| uncluttered line of shoots, making the process of | | | | high-quality vintage. But first we'll get through this |
| shoot thinning (removing excess shoots to | | | | one. |
| prevent crowding) relatively fast and easy. This is, | | | | |