Gary wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Could anyone advise me on the best way to train Chambourcin vines? Two or
> three arm Kniffin, or some other method? The vines are quite vigorous,
> and develop cane very quickly, so if I don't train them right, I will have
> a
> mess on my hands. Thanks for any help!
>
> Gary in NC
>
> http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/

Since your vines are quite vigorous, you might consider one of the divided
canopy methods such as Lyre. It is my experience that early growth (prior
to fruit set) Chambourcin vines will snap at the cordon junction if you try
to move them. This is also true in varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc. To
me this would discourage systems such as GDC, Scott Henry or Smart Dyson in
which you have to force some of the shoots to grow in directions that they
really don't want to grow. Others may have different experience and
disagree. Next year I am going to experiment with cane pruning some as
opposed to spur pruning.