Training a young vine is one of those jobs that looks simple until you actually have to do it. Then, very quickly, you realise that every cut matters. A vine might look like a bundle of shoots, leaves and wire in the first few years, but what you are really doing is building the structure that will carry your future crop. The decisions you make while training a young vine will stay with you for many years.
You need a plan. A good plan also means knowing what you want from your vineyard. Are you aiming for high yields? Are you aiming for premium fruit? Will the block be hand harvested or mechanically harvested? Are you training one cordon or two cordons? Is the site vigorous or weak? These questions matter because the training system must match the production goal.
At the same time, you need to look at the vine and listen to what it is telling you. A weak vine should not be forced into a big structure too quickly. A strong vine should not be allowed to become a tangled mess. If growth is uneven, if shoots are thin, if the vine is struggling, or if the root system is not yet strong enough, you may need to slow down and adjust your approach.
For a trellised vine, the main goal in the first year is usually to get the vine up to the wire. In the first year, you need to select the strongest and straightest shoot. This shoot will become the trunk or stem of the vine. In future, the entire productive structure of the vine will depend on it.
This is why shoot selection is so important. You want a stem that is as straight as possible, with good, uninterrupted sap flow. A crooked, damaged or badly positioned shoot can cause problems later. It may make the vine harder to manage, increase the risk of weak points, and interfere with the movement of water and nutrients through the vine.
Once the strongest shoot has been selected, the other competing shoots should be removed.
This is also why young vines need extra care in the first few years. Good growth in the establishment phase is worth a lot. If the selected shoot does not grow strongly enough to reach the wire, you may have to cut it back and try again the next year. It delays your first proper crop. After spending money on land, soil preparation, vines, poles, wires, irrigation and labour, the idea of pushing the harvest back by another year is enough to make most producers run cold.
In the second year, the focus usually shifts to forming the cordons. This is where the vine starts to take on its permanent shape. Depending on your trellising system, you may train one cordon or two cordons. A single cordon will be trained in one direction along the wire, while a bilateral system will have one cordon trained to each side. Again, the decision should already have been made as part of your original plan.
To form the cordons, select one or two suitable shoots near the cordon wire. These shoots should be healthy, well positioned and strong enough to form the permanent arms of the vine. Do not choose shoots simply because they are there. Choose them because they are in the right place and have the right growth. A badly positioned cordon can cause management problems for the rest of the vine’s productive life. You are aiming to get as close as possible to the point where the stem shoot meets the wire, leaving space here means offering up prime real estate for another shoot.
Correct cutting is just as important as correct tying. A pruning cut is not just a way of removing unwanted wood. It is also a wound. Every cut creates an entry point for disease if it is badly placed or poorly timed.
One of the most important principles is to avoid unnecessary large cuts. Young vines should be shaped gradually and carefully. If a shoot is not needed, remove it while it is still small rather than waiting until it becomes a thick piece of wood. Smaller cuts heal more easily and place less stress on the vine. Large wounds can disrupt sap flow and may increase the risk of trunk disease over time.
When making cuts, use clean, sharp pruning shears. Blunt shears crush the tissue instead of cutting it cleanly. A clean cut heals more effectively and causes less damage. The cut should also be made in the correct position. Do not cut too close to the bud or permanent structure, because this can damage the bud or dry back into important tissue. At the same time, do not leave long stubs everywhere, because they can die back and create untidy, unproductive wood.
A practical rule is to leave a small amount of wood above the bud when cutting a cane or spur. This helps protect the bud from drying out. On permanent wood, be especially careful. The trunk and cordons are the main highways for sap flow. If you damage them badly, you can affect the long-term performance of the vine.
Another important point is to think about the direction of growth. When selecting shoots for cordons or future spurs, choose shoots that are well placed and growing in a useful direction. Avoid shoots growing downward, inward or in awkward positions if better options are available. The aim is to create a balanced vine that is easy to prune, spray, harvest and manage.
By the third year, if everything has gone well, the vine should have a basic structure. The trunk should be formed, the cordons should be established, and you can start thinking more seriously about productive pruning. But even then, do not overload the vine too soon. A young vine that is forced to carry too much crop before it is ready may struggle to build strong permanent wood and a healthy root system. It is better to build a strong vine first and then increase production as the vine matures.
Training vines is a balancing act between ambition and patience. Every producer wants to get to full production as quickly as possible, but vines reward long-term thinking. A well-trained vine is easier to work with, more balanced, and better positioned to produce consistently over many seasons.
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