Training
The grapevine is planted next to a 1.5 - 2 m tall stake and trained according to the instructions for the 1st year. If you are planting several vines, make sure they are planted about 1 m apart. In the 2nd year the vine's growth will be assessed in order to select one of the two training methods described below.
"Circular Cane" Training (Bow Formation)
This formation is for vigorous vines and for those that tend to grow strictly upright (as opposed to filling out like a bush). The training technique is described below.
"Vertico" (Vertical Cordons)
In this method, a main shoot is trained vertically along the stake, or even coiled around it. This training technique is particularly well known in Eastern Europe, in the Saxon Elb Valley, and in the Moselle region. It is suitable for vines with a rather weak to moderate growth vigour; in other words, vines with very flexible shoots. The vine is trained as a vertical cordon ("schnurbaum" in German). Follow the link for diagrams on this training technique.