Topic: New allotment - what do I do with the run wild vine

[kickingkatie2001]

I got my allotment two weeks ago, it was well looked after up until a couple of years ago, the old boy who had it died sadly and I got the plot.  From others on the site I have heard that he was still doing little bits to it last year, but was quite poorly and couldn't do much. I have managed to dig over a couple of beds, Cleared the fruit cage so the berries can get some light and not fight the grass and nettles for nutrients. 
I have no idea what to do with the vine. It has been trained to go over the top of a wooden compost cage. there are many branches/stems.  Some of them are 15 foot long and growing along the ground. How much should I cut it back, do I have to wait until winter so it doesn't bleed out before trying to curb it?
Any advice gratefully received.

[calendula]

I take it you mean a grape vine - if so I think i would be tempted to cut back quite severely this year, sacrifice the fruit for one year and then decide how you want to train it and study the various ways of doing this - cut back several feet to a strong side shoot on each branch - others might suggest different ideas  :)

[kickingkatie2001]

It is a grape vine, thanks.

[redimp]

I wouldn't cut it back now - they bleed like crazy.  Waith till a frost free period in late Autumn and early winter and cut back to about three shoots.

[saddad]

You can trim off as much of the new soft growth as you want without too much ill effect... but not into the woody bits as has been mentioned.  :)

[calendula]

I don't read it as saying cutting back into woody growth - I wrote 'cut back to strong side shoots'

this grape has been abandoned for awhile and needs some work - severe pruning will not harm it as long as there are side shoots and even if there aren't any this drastic method is often done by grape growers to the benefit of the vine and quality of fruit - a lot depends on the variety and strength of the vine and this one sounds strong - the 'usual' type of pruning at this time of year will probably just end up encouraging even more unnecessary growth and the vine goes out of control

plenty advice out there is you use a search engine  :)

[antipodes]

perhaps for now you should just tie it up off the ground until harvest and then prune it back in the winter? I have never seen any one in France prune vines out of the cold season... it will probably need some support going from your description, lucky you to have inherited some nice fruit! The "old boy" left a nice legacy...