I am writing this in response to Tamlyn’s article on Beaujolais Nouveau and braiding vine shoots, in which she asks for comments.
I have been toying with doing this for some time, but took the plunge this year, having seen a vigneronne doing this on vines in Burgundy in a video. The more I think about it its a no brainer…except for the time and hence cost.
Vine shoots grow at an amazing rate and can soon stretch across the rows and stop light, airflow and whip you across the face if like me you have a tractor without a cab. So vines are hedged to keep them under control. By cutting the tips of the shoots a hormonal message then activates the growth of lateral shoots further down the canes. Instead we wrapped the shoots along the top wire which kept them out of the way. We spend time in removing leaves in the fruiting zone to let the air and sun get at the bunches and then by hedging you are encouraging the growth of leaves you don’t want. So you solve one problem but create another.
By not hedging we found very little superfluous growth, so the vine instead of putting energy into extra shoots you don’t want, puts that energy into the fruit which you do want.
I shall braid the shoots again next year.