Following the visit from John and the reassurance that he has given me my focus will shift away from post bashing to pruning. This is one of the most important stages in the vineyard year as the actions taken now will shape the development of the vine for the next few years. We are using the Guyot system developed in the mid 1800's in France by Jules Guyot. Guyot is used throughout France and the rest of the world. It is widely regarded as the best system for vineyard management, yield and of course, producing quality fruit. The methodology involves selecting 1 (single) or 2 (double) fruiting canes that are tied to a fruiting wire. The buds produce shoots that contain bunches of grapes - simple eh? Well yes and no - we will find out over the next few years. The system is based on the fact that grapes form on the previous years growth or wood. Therefore, it is essential to select the correct canes to (a) prune away and therefore,(b) to retain for fruiting. Make the wrong decision and you do not have any friut!!
We are pruning the vines that made the most growth to ~700mm, this will be the height of the permanent leg of the vine. Hopefully, from the top of this leg we will retain the growth from 1 or 2 canes that will then become the fruiting canes for next year.
So that is the theory I'm going out now to put it into practice
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