Trunk and main stems or "arms"

In the Rioja, vines have a shape similar to a "candelabra". This does not occur naturally but is the consequence of pruning. The vinegrower obtains this shape intentionally during the pruning operation each year. This shape is also known as "goblet" pruning.

Two or three years after grafting and at about 10 cm from the soil, the trunk of the vine divides into three branches. On each branch, two canes are cut back at the base, leaving two buds on each, but year after year and once the three branches have formed, these do not continue to fork. Although two buds are left on each spur, and from these canes shoot each year, the upper one is eliminated and the lowest, two buds away, is pruned in turn. In this way, every year, the trunk which supports three branches, each with two spurs, is left with twelve buds, two on each cane.

Step by step, year after year, the trunk and branches become coriaceous with black, exfoliable bark. The canes which become renewal spurs and afterwards form part of the "arms", change from green to a reddish colour, then ochre, which pales and after two years, becoming greyish and then black or very dark brown.

Up to an age of twenty-five years, the branches grow in the harmonious form of a goblet or cup. Afterwards, and to avoid excessive height, the vinegrower tends to cut back further growth producing, during the course of the next twenty years, spiral or zig-zag shapes, sometimes with a downward tendency. After more than sixty years, the shapes can become picturesque.

In the Rioja Baja there are pruned vines with shorter branches but with a higher common trunk. In the Rioja Alta the branches start at 20-30 cm and the cup shape reaches 50 cm after twenty years. On the other hand, in the Rioja Baja the trunk reaches 40 cm and the branches an extra 10 cm.

Several vegetative forms arise each year in the vine as a whole.

At intervals of 15-25 cm along the canes there are thicker sections which indicate knots. These bring together buds, leaves, tendrils, bunches and internal diaphragm.The arrangement of the trunk and branches according to the wishes of the vinegrower, does not have any definite effect on the quality or quantity of grapes. In the Rioja it has the shape of a goblet as this is the simplest shape to occupy the space available in the vineyard.

As a consequence of modern cultivating methods, without horses, the arrangement of the vines and their shape can be varied to simplify work. This, does not influence the quality of the wine as long as no attempt is made to obtain a higher yield than that permitted by regulations.