Scott Henry Trellis System

The Scott Henry system is a vertically divided canopy design that trains alternating canes from two fruiting wires, one set of shoots growing upward in the conventional manner and the other set trained actively downward after bloom. This effectively creates two parallel fruit zones stacked vertically within a single vine row, doubling the canopy length per linear foot of row compared to a standard Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) system. The critical management step is timing the downward shoot positioning correctly at or just after flowering, before tendrils attach to upper wires; get it right and the system largely manages itself, requiring less summer hedging and shoot tucking than VSP on vigorous sites.

• Cane-pruned system using two or four canes per vine, with each pair trained to a separate fruiting wire at approximately 40 and 46 inches respectively
• Shoots from the lower fruiting wire must be actively pushed downward at bloom using a moveable foliage wire, as grapevines naturally grow upward
• Doubles the number of shoots and clusters per unit of row length compared to VSP, distributing vine vigor across a larger fruiting surface
• Distinguished from the similar Smart-Dyson system, which is spur-pruned from a single mid-height cordon rather than cane-pruned from two separate wires

By dividing the canopy vertically, the Scott Henry system halves shoot density per tier, opening up the interior of the vine to sunlight and air movement. Improved light penetration encourages more fruitful buds, better color and phenolic development in the berries, and reduced incidence of powdery mildew and Botrytis bunch rot. Trials in New Zealand and Wisconsin have consistently documented earlier ripening, less bunch rot, and improved spray penetration to the fruit zone. Importantly, research has shown no statistically significant differences in sugar and acid composition at harvest between Scott Henry vines and VSP vines, even at considerably higher crop loads on the Scott Henry blocks.

• Open canopy structure improves spray penetration and drying conditions, reducing fungal disease pressure including Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew
• More sunlight reaching clusters supports better color and phenolic development, particularly relevant in cool, overcast growing seasons
• Vigor is self-regulating: higher crop loads reduce vegetative shoot growth, often eliminating the need for multiple summer hedging passes required in dense VSP canopies
• Ripening can be uneven between upper and lower canopy clusters, so cluster thinning or selective harvest timing may be required

Scott Henry was designed specifically to solve the problems of high-vigor, fertile, often rain-soaked sites where standard VSP canopies become excessively dense and shaded. Henry Estate's own Umpqua Valley vineyards sit on flat, rich soils, and the system was a practical engineering solution to those conditions. It has since spread to similarly vigorous sites in Oregon, New Zealand's Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and beyond, and parts of Australia. Viticulture consultant Richard Smart has been its most prominent advocate internationally, promoting it particularly for New Zealand's vigorous alluvial soils. The system is not universally appropriate: on low-vigor, low-nutrient, or drought-stressed sites, dividing the canopy provides no meaningful benefit.

• Most effective on fertile, high-vigor sites with reliable soil moisture, including alluvial valley floors prone to excessive vegetative growth
• Used for a wide range of varieties including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and cold-climate hybrids in the US Midwest
• Delegat Wine Company (Oyster Bay) has developed what is likely the largest Scott Henry acreage in the world, spanning Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, and the Barossa Valley
• Unsuitable for warm, arid climates where the lower fruit tier can be overexposed to reflected heat from the soil

Converting an existing VSP vineyard to Scott Henry requires adding only one extra fruiting wire below the existing wire, making it one of the most cost-effective trellis conversions available. The key management skill is shoot separation at bloom: the lower cane's shoots must be deflected downward using a moveable foliage wire at precisely the right moment. Too early and breakages increase; too late and tendrils have already attached to upper wires, requiring costly hand labor to separate them. Beyond this critical timing window, Scott Henry often demands less intensive summer management than VSP on vigorous sites, as the higher crop load naturally suppresses excessive vegetative vigor.

• Adding Scott Henry to an existing VSP system requires little capital investment beyond one additional fruiting wire per row
• Downward shoot positioning must be completed at or just after flowering, before tendril attachment makes separation difficult and labor-intensive
• Winter pruning requires balancing bud counts across both upper and lower canes; the general rule is approximately 14 buds retained per pound of pruning weight
• Vine spacing of 5 to 6 feet within the row is considered optimal for the system to function correctly

Henry Estate Winery in Umpqua, Oregon remains the origin point and a continuing benchmark for the system. In Oregon, Raptor Ridge Winery (Willamette Valley) and Results Partners, which manages over 200 Oregon vineyards, both deploy Scott Henry selectively on appropriate high-vigor sites. Lakewood Vineyards in the Finger Lakes (New York) and Sheldrake Point Winery are among the Northeast US adopters who report less disease pressure and improved crop loads. Internationally, New Zealand's Delegat Wine Company has built the world's largest Scott Henry vineyard program, spanning multiple regions. Viticulture consultant Dr. Richard Smart first encountered Scott Henry's system in Oregon in 1983 and has championed it globally ever since.

• Henry Estate Winery, founded 1978 and one of Oregon's oldest, remains the home of the original system and a working demonstration of its long-term viability
• Raptor Ridge Winery founder Scott Shull uses Scott Henry for approximately half of the fruit he grows across roughly 9,000 cases of annual production
• Delegat Wine Company holds approximately 5,240 acres of Scott Henry in New Zealand and Australia, by far the largest such program in the world
• Results Partners, managing over 200 Oregon vineyards, deploys the system regularly but emphasizes it is a site-specific tool, not a universal prescription

The primary advantage of the Scott Henry system is its ability to simultaneously increase yields and maintain or improve fruit quality on high-vigor sites, where conventional VSP canopies become counterproductively dense. Lower disease pressure, reduced summer labor requirements, and compatibility with mechanical harvesting are additional practical benefits. The main challenge is the precision required for downward shoot positioning at bloom; failure at this step is the most commonly cited reason growers abandon the system. Comparable divided-canopy alternatives include the Smart-Dyson (spur-pruned, simpler to manage mechanically) and the Geneva Double Curtain (horizontally divided, requiring wider row spacing). On low-vigor sites, standard VSP remains the more appropriate and less complicated choice.

• Conversion from VSP is low cost, requiring primarily one additional wire and the willingness to master the timing of downward shoot positioning
• Compatible with mechanical harvesting and mechanized pre-pruning, giving it an advantage in cost management over more complex divided systems
• The system has acquired a mixed reputation in some regions due to misuse on inappropriate sites, where it can encourage overcropping without the vigor to sustain quality
• Smart-Dyson and Geneva Double Curtain address similar vigor and canopy density problems with different structural approaches suited to different site and pruning preferences