There are two different types of pruning: winter pruning (dry pruning) and green pruning.

Vine Pruning: Dry Pruning

Dry pruning is performed only once a year – during winter – and is used to determine the number of buds that will produce grape clusters. Consequently, short pruning, which leaves between 7 and 10 buds, results in higher quality grapes but lower yield.

In contrast, long pruning, with 15 to 25 buds, leads to higher yield but lower quality. The type of pruning depends on several factors, including the age of the vine, the vineyard type, the location and characteristics of the soil, etc.

Green Pruning

Green pruning is carried out a couple of times during the spring and summer months. It helps shape the vine by removing shoots that emerge from the trunk — a practice known as "suckering".

Another important goal of green pruning is to improve airflow around the grape clusters and promote vertical growth of the vine.

READ ALSO: Vine reproduction: techniques and life cycle

Vine Training Systems

Dry pruning also influences the training system used for the vine. In some cases, the training system is determined during the planting of the vine cuttings.

There are many vine training systems, including:

• Tendone (canopy)
• Pergola
• ad Bush vine (Alberello)
• Cordon spur training
• Guyot
• Double arched cane
• etc.

In general, each training system originates from and is common in specific regions of Italy. For instance, the low bush vine (alberello) is typical of Zibibbo cultivation in Pantelleria, while the pergola is typical of Trentino-Alto Adige, and so on.

The most common training system is the vertical trellis (spalliera), which can accommodate more than one pruning method. However, throughout Europe, the Guyot system is the most widely used, as it is easy to manage and helps optimize leaf sun exposure.

L'articolo La potatura delle viti e i sistemi di allevamento proviene da La Badiola.

The numbers speak for themselves: Italy and France together produce around 45 million hectoliters per year, out of a global total of 270 million hectoliters.

Grapevine Propagation: Techniques

The wine grapevine has a very long history, dating back approximately one million years. Over time, various propagation methods have been experimented with, but two have become the most widely used:

• Cutting propagation
• Grafting propagation

Propagation by Cutting

This technique uses a one-year-old shoot segment that has at least two buds. The cutting is planted vertically into the soil, where it will form roots from the lower end and a shoot that develops into a vine seedling (barbatella).

Propagation by Grafting

This is the most commonly used technique today. It involves combining two vine segments, each with at least one bud. Grafting can be carried out in two main ways:

1. English double cleft graft
2. Maiorchina graft

The Grapevine Life Cycle

Once the vine is propagated and planted, it begins to grow but remains unproductive for the first 2 to 3 years. From around the 5th to the 25th year, the vine enters its peak productivity phase, though this depends on various factors such as grape variety, climate, and growing conditions.

After the productive phase, the vine gradually enters old age, which generally begins between 30 and 40 years of age, accompanied by a decline in grape production.

To summarize the vine’s life cycle:

• 2–3 years – Unproductive phase: the plant prepares for full productivity.
• 5–25 years – Peak productivity phase
• 30–40 years and beyond – Old age: gradual decrease in yield.

L'articolo La riproduzione della vite: tecniche e ciclo di vita proviene da La Badiola.