VSP, the trellis of choice for Four Cedars Vineyard

Last weekend, hubby and I attended the Minnesota Grape Growers Association Cold Climate Conference, where every year growers and winery people gather to discuss riveting topics such as foliar fertilization, fungicides and soil condition; the conference is also the site of the continued annual debate over grow tubes: Should we use grow tubes or shouldn't we? The industry has yet to reach consensus.

We went into this conference with money down on 650 vines (300 white wine grapes, 300 red wine grapes, and 50 table grapes, just for kicks), and intent to get our trellis supplies ordered. Of course, nothing is easy in this business. There are several different trellis configurations depending on your planting site, the vigor of your cultivar, and the height of the vineyard workers. Since my nickname around the farm is "shorty pants," we selected the Vertical Shoot Positioning or VSP trellis configuration.

With VSP, the cordon (the wire from which fruiting canes emerge) is placed about 30 inches above the ground, with the vines being trained out from the trunk, then up across several catchwires. If all goes according to plan, that puts the fruiting zone right at chest height.

Experienced growers are transitioning to VSP because they like not having to work with their arms above their heads all day long. Here's a picture to help you visualize.