Vineyard Management

Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)

The most widely used training system in the world for quality wine production. The vine’s shoots are trained upward between pairs of parallel wires, creating a neat, narrow, vertical wall of leaves (a "curtain").

How it works: The trunk is short. One or two horizontal canes or cordons are tied along a low wire. Shoots grow upward from these and are tucked between higher wires as they grow. The fruit zone is low, below the leaf canopy.

Advantages:

• Excellent sun exposure to leaves (photosynthesis) and fruit (ripening, colour development)
• Good air circulation around the fruit zone, reducing disease risk
• Easy access for machinery (spraying, harvesting)
• Allows precise canopy management (leaf removal, shoot thinning)

Where it’s used: Almost everywhere in cool to moderate climates, Bordeaux, Burgundy, New Zealand, Oregon, Germany, much of Chile and Argentina.

Limitation: In very hot climates, the vertical canopy exposes fruit to too much direct sunlight, risking sunburn. Also, VSP limits yield because it creates a relatively small canopy.

Bush Vine (Gobelet)

The oldest training system in viticulture. The vine is a free-standing bush, no wires, no trellis. The trunk is short, and several short arms radiate outward, each bearing a spur with a few buds. The resulting shape is a small, low bush.

How it works: The vine supports itself through its short, stocky permanent wood. Shoots grow outward and slightly downward, creating a crown of leaves around the fruit, which hangs in the shade of the canopy.

Advantages:

• The canopy shades the fruit from intense sun, ideal in hot, dry climates
• No trellis required, reducing setup costs
• Low to the ground, so the vine benefits from heat radiated by the soil
• Naturally restricts vigour and yield, concentrating flavours

Where it’s used: Southern Rhône (Grenache), Beaujolais (Gamay), southern Spain, much of old-vine Australia (Barossa Shiraz and Grenache), parts of South Africa (old-vine Chenin Blanc).

Limitation: Cannot be easily mechanised, harvesting and most vineyard work must be done by hand, increasing costs. In humid climates, the dense canopy traps moisture and promotes disease.

Pergola (Tendone)

The vine is trained over a high, horizontal overhead frame, creating a canopy roof above the vineyard. Fruit hangs below the canopy in the shade.

Advantages:

• Heavy shading of fruit, useful in very hot climates to prevent sunburn
• High yields, making it popular for bulk wine production
• Workers can move freely underneath the canopy

Where it’s used: Traditionally common in parts of northern Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige), Portugal (Vinho Verde), and some warm-climate bulk wine regions.

Limitation: The heavy shading can inhibit ripening and colour development. Difficult to mechanise. Not ideal for quality-focused production in most situations.

Other Systems

Guyot: a specific VSP variant using cane pruning. Single Guyot uses one cane; double Guyot uses two (one on each side of the trunk). Very common in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and New Zealand.

Scott Henry and Lyre: split-canopy systems that divide the vine’s leaf surface into two layers, increasing the total exposed leaf area. Used when vigour is naturally high and a simple VSP canopy would become too dense and shaded.

Cane Pruning

Each winter, the grower selects one or two of the best canes (one-year-old shoots that have turned woody) and ties them along the lowest trellis wire. Each cane is typically cut to 8–15 buds. All other canes from the previous year are removed entirely.

Advantage: Gives the grower precise control over the number and position of buds. Well-suited to varieties that produce their best fruit from buds in the middle of the cane (some varieties produce less fruitful buds near the base).

Where it’s used: Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Champagne, much of New Zealand (Single or Double Guyot).

Cost: Labour-intensive, requires skilled pruners who can identify and select the best canes.

Spur Pruning

Instead of retaining long canes, the grower leaves several short spurs along a permanent cordon (arm). Each spur has 2–3 buds. This creates a permanent framework that remains the same year after year.

Advantage: Simpler and faster to execute, easier to mechanise (machines can be set to cut to a fixed height). The permanent cordon provides a stable structure.

Where it’s used: Bordeaux (some estates), southern Rhône, Australia, California, Spain. Also the standard method for bush vines (gobelet).

Limitation: Not suitable for all varieties, some grape varieties (like Riesling) have unfruitful basal buds, meaning spurs would produce insufficient fruit.

Shoot Thinning

Removing excess shoots early in the growing season. This reduces canopy density, improves air flow and light penetration, and ensures the vine’s energy is directed to fewer shoots (and therefore fewer bunches of higher quality).

Leaf Removal (Leaf Plucking)

Removing leaves from around the fruit zone to expose bunches to sunlight and air. This is one of the most common and impactful canopy management techniques. In cool and moderate climates, leaf removal on the morning-sun side of the canopy improves ripening and reduces disease. In hot climates, leaf removal must be done carefully to avoid sunburning the grapes.

Shoot Positioning

Guiding shoots into the desired position as they grow (especially important in VSP, where shoots need to be trained upward between wires). This creates an orderly canopy with good light and air exposure.

Topping (Hedging)

Cutting the top of the canopy to a uniform height. This prevents the canopy from becoming too tall and shading itself. Usually done by machine. It redirects the vine’s energy from shoot extension toward fruit ripening.

Where Irrigation Is Used

In many New World wine regions (Australia, California, Chile, Argentina, South Africa), irrigation is essential because there is not enough rainfall during the growing season to support the vine. Without irrigation, viticulture would be impossible in many of these areas.

In most of Europe, irrigation was traditionally prohibited or heavily restricted by appellation law. The philosophy was that the vine should rely on natural rainfall and that irrigation would inflate yields and dilute quality. However, with climate change making droughts more severe and more frequent, regulations are gradually loosening, some European appellations now permit limited irrigation in extreme conditions.

Irrigation Methods

Drip irrigation is the most common modern method. Small drippers deliver controlled amounts of water directly to each vine’s root zone. This is very efficient, minimal water is wasted, and the grower has precise control over how much water each vine receives.

Flood (furrow) irrigation is an older method that floods the vineyard surface. It is less efficient but still used in some traditional regions (parts of Mendoza, for example, where irrigation water comes from Andean snowmelt through centuries-old canal systems).

Deficit Irrigation Strategies

Modern quality-focused growers don’t irrigate to keep vines completely comfortable. Instead, they use regulated deficit irrigation (RDI): deliberately providing less water than the vine would ideally want, particularly during certain stages of the growing season. This controlled stress produces smaller berries with thicker skins, resulting in more concentrated, complex wines with better colour and tannin (in reds).

Downy Mildew

A serious fungal disease that thrives in warm, humid conditions. It attacks leaves, shoots, and fruit. Infected leaves develop yellow spots on top and a white downy growth underneath. If untreated, it can devastate the crop.

Treatment: Copper-based sprays (traditional Bordeaux mixture, actually named after the region where it was developed). Also controlled through canopy management (improving air circulation).

Powdery Mildew (Oïdium)

Another fungal disease, but unlike downy mildew, it can thrive in drier conditions. It appears as a grey-white powder on leaves and berries. Infected fruit develops off-flavours and the skins may split, inviting secondary infections.

Treatment: Sulphur-based sprays. Canopy management to improve air flow also helps.

Grey Rot (Botrytis cinerea)

The destructive form of botrytis. It attacks ripening grapes, particularly if the skins have been damaged (by hail, insects, or splitting from rain). It can spread rapidly through a vineyard, destroying the crop. The same fungus in different conditions (alternating humidity and dryness) produces noble rot, which is essential for great sweet wines (see Chapter 5).

Prevention: Good canopy management, leaf removal around fruit, avoiding damage to grape skins, and in extreme cases, anti-botrytis sprays.

Phylloxera

Covered in detail in Chapter 4. The root-feeding aphid that devastated European viticulture in the 19th century. Managed by grafting Vitis vinifera onto resistant American rootstocks.

Other Pests

Nematodes are microscopic worms that attack roots. Some rootstocks are bred for nematode resistance. Moths (like the European grapevine moth) lay eggs on berries; the larvae bore into fruit, damaging it and creating entry points for rot. Birds can eat significant quantities of ripe grapes, netting is the most common protection. Deer, wild boar, and other animals can also damage vineyards.

Organic Viticulture

Organic farming prohibits the use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. Instead, organic growers use natural alternatives:

• Copper and sulphur sprays for disease control (instead of synthetic fungicides)
• Cover crops and compost for soil health (instead of synthetic fertilisers)
• Natural predators for pest control (instead of synthetic insecticides)

Organic viticulture is easier to practice in dry, warm climates (like southern Spain, Chile, parts of California) where disease pressure is naturally low. In humid regions (like Bordeaux or Burgundy), it is more challenging because fungal diseases are harder to control without synthetic sprays.

Certification: Organic status requires official certification from a recognised body (e.g., Ecocert in Europe, USDA Organic in the US). There is a transition period of several years before certification is granted.

Biodynamic Viticulture

Biodynamics goes further than organic farming. It follows the principles developed by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s and treats the vineyard as a holistic, self-sustaining ecosystem. In addition to prohibiting synthetic chemicals:

• Specific preparations are used, these include fermented plant and mineral mixtures applied in tiny quantities to the soil or sprayed on the vine
• Vineyard activities are timed according to a biodynamic calendar based on lunar and celestial cycles
• The aim is to enhance soil health, biodiversity, and the vine’s natural balance

The scientific basis for some biodynamic practices is debated, but many respected producers worldwide practice biodynamics and report improvements in vine health and wine quality. Certification is provided by organisations like Demeter.

Notable biodynamic producers: Dom. Leroy and Dom. Leflaive (Burgundy), Zind-Humbrecht (Alsace), Nicolas Joly (Loire), Cullen (Margaret River).

Sustainable Viticulture

Sustainability takes a broader view than organic or biodynamic, considering environmental, economic, and social factors. A sustainable approach might use synthetic chemicals when necessary but aims to minimise their use, reduce water consumption, lower carbon emissions, and maintain soil health over the long term.

Many large wine companies and regions have developed their own sustainability programmes (e.g., Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance). These are not as strictly regulated as organic or biodynamic certification but represent a growing trend.