Which trellis is better for planting grapes?

Is there any trellis system suitable for grape planting that can be shared?


I found that the Y-shaped trellist is suitable for planting fresh grapes. Is that true?

Like almost anything having to do with growing plants, it depends. Are you growing wine grapes or table grapes? What variety? Where are you located and what is your soil like? How do you plan to cultivate--what equipment do you need to run down the rows and how big is it?

In general, table grapes produce more tons of grapes per acre than wine grapes, which are usually restricted in production to improve quality. As a practical matter, you will probably need the rows at least nine or ten feet wide to drive your tractor down them, although there are specialized narrow tractors for vineyards and even tall tractors that are used to drive over the top off grape vines.

The "y" type trellises are used most commonly for table grapes or a few varieties of wine grapes that are very vigorous and best grown on a taller trellis. I grow wine grapes using a double cordon system, but I'm just a beginner. There's a lot to know.

I often over-think and over-analyze. I did this when I was planning to plant grapes and did a deep dive on all the trellis methods. Turns out there are HUNDREDS of ways to trellis grapes. So don't get caught up in which is best like I did.
I settled on another Permies easy space saving solution: grow them up a post: https://permies.com/t/176673/form-trellis

Like mentioned above, it really depends. I worked on and helped a friend plant a new block of his family vineyard. I saw several different approaches to trellising and training within that 20 acre property, and many more on the surrounding area of the Willamette Valley. The older vines were planted with very wide in (8’) and between (10’) row spacing for their tractor, which was inherited and meant for the preceding orchard. Younger vines were more and more tightly spaced (3’x3-4’), with more well resourced vineyards having tiny tractors to work between rows.

I have also seen head wires generally around 3ft and top wires varying much more, from 4ish-8’+. The main considerations for this are airflow and ease of work by hand or machinery. Airflow is also the main reason vintners often avoid planting on contour, as elevation change facilitates it.  I would think the v-shaped trellis would also increase mold pressure with more foliage without direct exposure to air and sunlight. On the other hand, most fruit on almost any plant is produced on horizontal growth.

This is all why your context and goals (varietal and end products) will shape the answer for what is best in your case. Enjoy the analysis paralysis!

Agnes Jones wrote:Is there any trellis system suitable for grape planting that can be shared?
I found that the Y-shaped trellist is suitable for planting fresh grapes. Is that true?

Goodness that looks like an expensive trellis to install with all that metal and fairly close spacing of the posts.

I agree with John, that trellis pictured looks insanely expensive and unnecessary. For that to be anywhere close to worth it, the wine (or other product) would have to be extremely valuable, and high priced wine is usually from vines where the yield is severely limited by tight spacing, as well as fruit and leaf thinning. So that much hardware would not be necessary for any grapes that could pay for it. Metal contact with plants is also not ideal, as it is a conductor that fluctuates in temperature wildly.

Then again, as the saying goes, “if you want to make a small fortune in viticulture, start with a large one”.

After 50 years of grape growing I would say this. A trellis that allows the canopy to see full daylight exposure is best how to do that varies. A simple trellis called “VSP”, vertical shoot positioned does the job. Look it up. You can construct it with all wood, steel or even strong plastic. Check out if possible a local vineyard supplies business they have all the parts. Carnine

That is an overly elaborate and expensive trellis in the picture in my opinion. More expensive wine grapes are managed to produce relatively light crops and canopy, so I do not see how that much labor, wood and metal would pay off. VSP seems to be the standard in the Willamette Valley where an old friend has a vineyard I help with from time to time. My friend has moved towards minimalist management with the “California Flop”, and has seen this increased canopy cover help with soil dehydration, fruit sunburn and dehydration, and smoke taint mitigation. He did it mainly out of necessity due to labor shortages in the valley, but has seen his fruit withstand unprecedented heat better than many of his neighbors.

He also makes great wine under the label Schaad Cellars using very ecologically friendly farming practices.

Hi friends. I have posted about this before but here’s how I grew grapes at my farm.