Grape vine advice and pruning

[BikerWife]

I'm hoping for some mumsnet wisdom and an idiots guide to getting this right I've spent ages on Google and just feel more confused! We have a wooden deck and pergola, I planted two grapevines last year with the hope that they would eventually grow up and cover the roof area.

Going well so far, both vines are at top of structure and one has split two ways along front and side roof.

How the hell do I prune these come winter

I will try and upload a pic of what the set up is thanks in advance!

This is the pergola

I have done the same! It’s crazy complicated because most people are growing for maximum crop rather than shape. I’ve watched far too many videos and have my own conclusions....

From what I understand you can choose the shape but want to remove side shoots that aren’t in the core shape so that all the strength is in the main branches.

For my vine I’m bending the main stem over at 90deg over winter to become a long side stem. Then another vertical stem will shoot up from the bend.

But if you want it to go straight up and then over the top then I wouldn’t prune it at this size. Tie the main stem where you want it, then only remove the tip when it gets to the edge of the roof. Remove side stems that aren’t in the right position, and tie the rest to the structure.

Personally I’d aim for a long stem across the front and then side stems across each roof beam of the pergola. Put wire with eyes along the beams to tie it in. Then you’ll have the strength to hold all those big (??) bunches of grapes and a nice easy structure to prune.

You could do the same with the other one or bend it across the back fence.

@peakotter thank you, that makes sense and makes me feel a bit more hopeful!

I'm also aiming for shade and foliage over bumper crops, and the advice online is SO complicated

What I do is roughly the same as peakotter - choose my main stems. In winter, prune back all the side stems to within a few inches of the main stem. From midsummer onwards prune back whippy long stems that are making a nuisance of themselves.

After a few years you end up with thick gnarled main stems with sort of thick "knots" where the growth starts each spring.