...cordon-training grapevines is the number of cuts, wounds really, that are inflicted upon the vine every year at pruning time. Potentially, each cut is indeed a wound through which any of a number of pathogens could enter into the vine e.g. the fungal disease Eutypa lata. In the best possible scenario, for the cordon-trained vine in the above photograph, the vine has a minimum of 20 pruning wounds; one to remove one of last year's shoots and one to form this year's new 2 bud spur in each of its ten different positions. In comparison, the head-trained/cane-pruned vines in Vinoland have a mere 6 wounds; one to remove last years cane, one at the end of the new cane and one to form this year's 2 bud spur. The less wounds, the less chance of infection.
However, sometimes large wounds are unavoidable and that's why I have been known to daub Dreft on large cuts. You can see two really large wounds in the photo but on the bright side, this particular vine now has two brand new spurs on this one cordon alone.
Of course, there are many other considerations for choosing one style of training over another, but I personally think vine health is one of the, if not the, most important.
Anyhow...congratulations to the folks at Far Niente on the budbreak of their 2011 Chardonnay vintage.
