Saw this pic in the latest WS of MarcoCaprai standing beside some of his Sagrantino vines. The vines, look to be 12-16 yrs old, have this weird loop in the trunk, maybe about 8"-10" in diameter, midway up the trunk. Look to be cordon pruned. He claims that this loop in the trunk helps to moderate the crop load. It appears that in the first yr of growth, they make a loop in the cane as they're training the vine up to the wire, to form the trunk.
Never have heard of this trick before. Is it a technique used in other areas or is it unique to Caprai's vnyd?? I'm a bit skeptical of its value.
Tom