Inherited vines - fall / winter cutback questions (with photos!)

[Salinity]

Hi all - so we inherited some vines with a house we recently purchased in RI. The vines are pretty wild now and we'd like to try and tame them if at all possible. The major one (in the pictures) forms a full canopy over a supported trellis-type structure and consists of what looks to be 3 individual vines. The other looks to also have 3 vines as well and is supported by a curved structure, but mostly just grows up and out. I'm not sure of the varietal(s) just yet, but it did produce some grapes this summer, despite showing signs of black rot (a topic for a separate discussion).

I'm going to remove the trellis under the supports to get at all the dead leaves etc and clean that out, but I am looking for some guidance as to when and how much to cut these beasts back so we can try and manage the vines a bit better. Growth has slowed substantially since the pictures were taken, but there is still quite a bit of foliage. Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[Countrygent]

I'm no expert, I have a little 20 vine self-planted vineyard, but everything I have read says major pruning should be done in late winter or early spring when the vine is dormant, it isn't running sap, etc.,. Check out "pruning grape vines on youtube, there are lots of videos.

Clean/sanitize your shears, and you can cut back extremely hard on almost any vine just leaving two or three bud shoots and the vines will love it. Don't know about trellised vines, but on a cordon wire you end up with the main stem and then just small fruiting canes/buds for the following year.

 

[Salinity]

Thanks - that may be an option, though I would prefer to have something coming over the trellises this spring / summer (simply for aesthetics). But if that’s the best course we can live with it.

I removed the trellising and cleared away dead & rotting leaves from years past along with twigs etc. Not much foliage left on the vine at this point.

 

[Countrygent]

I think you might be surprised by how vigorous it is - a vine cut right down to its main trunks or stems typically sends out several feet of growth in its shoots/canes every year.