Vine Pruner,

Spurred Cordon Vine Pruner Course

Is vine pruning your passion? Do you love your vineyard and feel tired of losing plants and replacing them? Watch our on-demand videos and virtual trainings from the vineyard with Marco Simonit and obtain the Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER certificate. You’ll acquire the confidence of a person who really knows their vineyard and will be able to protect your viticultural heritage.

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Carlo · 30 December 2020

You’re in the right place if you:

ARE A PRUNER

If you are a pruner and want to elevate your profession and move from being a “generic vineyard worker” to becoming a specialist pruner, you’re in the right place.

Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER Course will change your professional life and take it to another level.

Join the world of VINE MASTER PRUNERS Academy where everyone is passionate about vines. With the knowledge which you will acquire from this course you’ll gain the confidence to work as a true professional.

The SIMONIT&SIRCH Pruning Method which you will learn to apply while on this course, is currently applied in the top wine regions of the world. A certified VINE PRUNER, an expert of the Method is a professional who quality-oriented wineries are looking for.

MANAGE A VINEYARD

We know what a vineyard requires: passion, time and investment. And the results do not always match the expectations. With good pruning you can guarantee quality, consistent production and long life for your plants.

Only old vines can give wines unique and recognizable characters. Invest in quality. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” (J. Potter).

With our Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER course you will learn the SIMONIT&SIRCH Method which will enable you to grow strong and long-living plants with great production and qualitative performance levels. You’ll be able to significantly reduce premature decline connected with grapevine trunk diseases. You can train your staff with this course, maximizing your company’s profitability by reducing the need for premature replanting.

With Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER course you will learn how to observe the vine better, study traditional pruning methods and their consequences and acquire the knowledge about the principles of the SIMONIT&SIRCH Method applied to Guyot and Spurred Cordon with practical training sessions directly from the vineyard with Marco Simonit.

Here are some benefits that your vineyard could have with the SIMONIT&SIRCH Method:

Plants that live longer and perform better
as they accumulate more and more living tissue, and thus reserve substances, they build up more resistance and therefore become stronger as they grow

Save money by less uprooting
keep your vines healthy for a longer production career

Higher vegetative balance, quality and production
for the vines with more reserve substances available for balanced shoot growth and grape ripening, and for consistent production

Resistance to the challenges of climate change
as vines with more nutrients are better prepared to resist climatic variables

Vine health: 6 times more resistant to esca (GTD)
according to research by INRA and Université de Bordeaux

Total duration of the video materials of the course is about 4 hours, including on-demand lessons and 2 recorded webinars.

Moreover, access to 2 live webinars (dedicated to winter pruning and shoot selection), about 45 minutes each, is included in price. The next webinars are scheduled for January and May 2024 (date TBD).

The 2 live webinars are included in the Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER course only once (first year) per each student.

Enrolling in the Spurred Cordon Vine Pruner Course gives you:

Access to 6 on-demand lectures.
Access to the detailed video (40 minutes) of winter pruning practical training.
Access to the recordings of the 2 virtual training sessions on Spurred Cordon with Marco Simonit.
Access to 2 live webinars.
Access to the students’ helpdesk with the Academy technicians.
Possibility to attain our Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER certificate by passing the tests that follow each on-demand lecture and virtual training sessions recordings.

Option to access subsequent level Courses (purchased separately) once you’ve attained the Spurred Cordon VINE PRUNER certificate.

All the lessons are available with audio in English, while practical training sessions with Marco Simonit’s original audio have English subtitles. For Spanish, French or English subtitles click the “CC” button in the lower right corner (only English subtitles available for practical sessions).

To discover more check the FAQ section.

Course Content

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INTRODUCTION BY MARCO SIMONIT

THE NATURE OF THE VINE 1 Quiz

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In this first chapter we analyze the behavior and the main physiological characteristics of the vine.
Then, through a virtual trip to some of the most important vineyards in the world, we retrace the history and evolution of viticulture: from the free and three-dimensional architectures of the past, we come to analyze the modern vertical shoot positioning systems.

Lesson Content

Test The Nature of the vine

PRUNING BASICS 1 Quiz

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In this chapter we understand why a vine is pruned, and the consequences of pruning wounds in the perennial structures of the plant.
We then analyze the two pruning systems, spur pruning and cane pruning, taking into consideration the two most representative training systems: the Guyot and the Spurred cordon.

Lesson Content

Test Pruning Basics

VINE MORPHOLOGY

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In this chapter we give an overview of the structure of the grape vine, focusing on those of its parts that are important for an understanding of the following chapters.
From the hypogeal organs, or the root system, that develops below the ground to the epigeal organs, or shoot system, that develops above the ground.

Lesson Content

TRADITIONAL CUTTING TECHNIQUES ON SPURRED CORDON 1 Quiz

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In this chapter we see how a spurred cordon plant is structured and how man traditionally pruned it, analyzing the two main cutting techniques: the repositioning cut and the crown head.

Lesson Content

Test TRADITIONAL CUTTING TECHIQUES ON SPURRED CORDON

CONSEQUENCES OF PRUNING WOUNDS (CORDON) 1 Quiz

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In this chapter we study the consequences of pruning wounds caused by the techniques of the repositioning cut and the crown head and what these entail within the structure of plants trained as spurred cordon.

Analyzing numerous cross sections, we then focus on the resulting trunk diseases and the causes of the premature deterioration of modern vineyards.

Lesson Content

Test CONSEQUENCES OF PRUNING WOUNDS (CORDON)

PRINCIPLES AND HISTORY OF THE SIMONIT&SIRCH METHOD (CORDON) 1 Quiz

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In this chapter we discover the four fundamental principles on which the SIMONIT&SIRCH METHOD is based: controlled branching, continuity of the sap flow, crown cuts and spare wood.
Through the analysis of the cross sections, we understand the consequences of pruning on the perennial structures of the spurred-cordon trained plant, with the ultimate aim of having healthy and long-living vineyards.

Lesson Content

Test PRINCIPLES AND HISTORY OF THE SIMONITH&SIRCH METHOD (CORDON)