Forgot to comment on your nursery comment. I'm not talking Home Depot
Garden Center , I'm talking people that grow plants for a living. ANY
plant. I talked to the owner of a VERY reputable nursery owner in the
Northeast about growing vines. His vines usually come with about 24
inches of roots on one year vines. I'm not going to mention any names
but I think alot of people know who I'm talking about. In the
conversation he basically said , and I'm paraphasing, that he does
EXACTLY what most gardeners do to grow any other plant. Drained soil,
drip irrigation, raised beds, mulch etc.... He also said a big vine is
a healthy vine. At NO time did he mention stressing the vine. I think
if you do some research, you'll find that some of the big wineries in
Napa and Sonoma are abandoning their "scorched earth" policies of old
and going more with an "organic" approach to growing. When I say
organic I mean more natural stuff like mulch and grass middles, etc....
Even some of Winkler's book is outdated with it's principles of
viticulture.

Bob