Grape vine on pergola outside

[BarrelOfOtters]

Can I just chop it right back every year? It's not the biggest pergola and I think it's going to get overwhelmed. I'm in the north west so grapes are unlikely so I'm not worried about correct pruning.

Yes. Not right to the base, leave a short stem have a look at the old vines at the top of this page

Alternatively, leave one or more main stems for the structure. Shorten any overly long whippy stems in late summer, prune all shoots to 5-10 cm of the main stem in winter.

If you like stuffed vine leaves, don’t forget you can use the ones you’ve pruned off. If you blanch them quickly, they’re easier to wrap round the filling.

I’m in Yorkshire and get grapes. I don’t thin them so they’re tiny, but lovely on cereal (where the crunchiness of the seeds don’t matter) - little burst of juice and sweetness.

Great, thank you both!