Pruning grapes.. European.. American..??

Just when I thought that I had a bit of a grasp on pruning grapes now I read that you should prune European grapes differently from American grapes. American grapes are supposed to be "cane-pruned"? And European grapes are supposed to be "spur pruned"??

I don't understand "cane-pruning"! I read that Thompson seedless must be cane-pruned because the buds at the base of the cane are not fruitful, but the buds from the fifth thru the twelfth are.

So am I to understand that they are talking about the "cane" in a vertical way? If you grow several "canes" do they arise from ground level? Like a raspberry plant??

Are there any expert grape pruners here?

Rich
Encinitas CA

Well I've read enough that I was able to somewhat answer my own questions to an extent.

Apparently grapes bare on growth from the last year. And this growth doesn't have to be from the ground. It can also be from arms that have grown out sideways. So (With Thompson Seedless) the arm or "cane" needs at least twelve buds to be fruitful. And most of the "American" grapes should be grown this way.

The European wine grapes are often "spur" pruned. So older arms are left on the plant and the new growth originates from the arms and is pruned back each year to short "spurs" (Not actual spurs but rather short one year branches).

Since I barely know what I'm talking about I'd love to hear how other people prune and train their grapes.

I pruned my grape vines back once and I ended up killing one of them. But the other two were thrilled with their pruning and produced more the following year and kept growing like crazy. I've been afraid to prune them since, so I haven't. I'd hate to kill all of them. My grape vines grow along my garden fence and they naturally climb all over the fence. I let them go.

My grape plants actually have several small clusters of grapes on them. Apparently they bear on first year wood -- that grows from second year wood. I guess that's the difference between American grapes and European grapes -- that bear on first year wood that grows from "spurs".

I have never pruned my grapes. They have been in the ground three years now. I get what I consider a nice amound of concord. Then I visited a local vineyard. They had an enourmous amound of fruit. I understand I need to prune but I do not understand all the buds and spurs part. I have Concord grapes. Are they American or European?
What exactly is a spur?

Concord grapes are "American". The European grapes have names that sound like wines .

And now I actually know how to prune grapes. I'll try to write this in a way that makes sense. "American" grapes grow on "first" year wood -- that grows on "second" year wood.

One year you take new growth and you establish two arms -- pruning everything that grows on those arms back to one leaf. The following year you let branches grow from the arms. These branches will produce a lot of grapes. And you also want to start two new arms (From the stem) that will replace the bearing ones. It's a continuous cycle.

European grapes simply bear grapes on new "first" year wood. With European grapes you can establish permanent arms and at the end of the season prune the new growth back to little stubs (Called "spurs" even though they're not really "spurs").