Ebourgeonage - Removing excess growth

From spring to around the end of July the vine throws out lots of shoots. Those on the stem of the vine are removed during epamprage, ebourgeonage is somewhat similar but it involves the removal of excess growth from the top of the vine. It is probably worth a quick overview of the vine's growth;

In winter the vine is pruned leaving one or two canes. Each cane has a specific number of buds. A branch grows from each of these buds and the aim is to harvest a bunch of grapes from each branch. The vine is not content to put all of its energy into just these branches and secondary (end even tertiary) buds develop, generating more foliage and, possibly, more bunches of grapes.

The aim of ebourgeonage is to remove this excess growth so that the vine is (a) better aerated and (b) more focussed on the more important growth areas.

There is no alternative to undertaking this by hand and it is a long and arduous activity.