January, February, and March are the months in which the vine gets “redone” and is pruned. This is one of the most important phases of vineyard care because it directly affects the quality and quantity of the grapes produced.
Proper pruning helps keep the plant healthy and in fact the vine leaves act as a filter giving proper ventilation and lighting to the plant. These are important to prevent diseases.
The vine shoots after winter pruning are called “fruit canes”. The operation is defined dry and is therefore carried out during the vegetative rest of the plant. The number of buds left on the plant affects the quality and quantity of the grapes. If there are many buds left, many fruits will grow but they will have a low sugar content. The opposite will happen if few are left. On poor soils, therefore, it is advisable to cut more to ensure nourishment to all the clusters of the plant.
There are various types of pruning: Guyot, inverted, spurred cordon, sapling, vine pergola.