Our Forum clock's still on Pacific Daylight Time… so I had an hour to kill! I’d also forgot (being a big public / community radio fan) how much advertisement commercial radio has now days… guess I’m spoiled. I also noticed at a quarter-till Mike Darcy was teasing us…
Lon was great, or should that be grape! I’ve never listened to any of his HOS presentations ...as I’ve always been grafting away in some back room ... but any time I’ve had a grape question I’m instantly directed his way. It was nice (I’ll stop speaking to you in the third person Lon) to hear ‘you’ suggest Interlaken and Canadice as good basic choices; I’m very happy with mine and consider them two of the best.
You tailored your answers very well to the general public; the guy with the red light didn’t have to press it once! I thought the call from the woman in Corbett (only caller?) was perfect; her problem with pruning seems to be what I notice with most every grape owner. It’s not how to prune them yearly, but every decade!
Your suggesting she lop it off near several long canes nearer the base and train those canes to replace the mass was ideal, and, leaving a few ‘spurs’ near the trunk for next years ‘replacement’ canes. It’s always a mess when I attempt to describe the difference between “cane pruning†and “spur pruning,†but you did it well.
Would you mind listing those “Wine Grapes†you’d suggested for ‘around here.’ I’d have liked to ask (and will now) why you wouldn’t suggest our now famous Pinot noir or Chardonnay ‘wine grapes?’ Lately I’ve noticed them at some of the better nurseries; in fact, the 5 gallon bucket of Pinot gris my neighbor and vineyard/winery owner gave me a few years back were the tastiest grapes I’ve ever eaten! Though spitting seeds - they had me wondering what I was doing growing these insipid seedless ‘table grapes?’ Are there rot problems with the commercial varieties that are not as prevalent with those you suggested?
Otherwise, I hadn’t listened to Mike for a long time. I’m glad you responded to his request and though it’s not yet the best time to prune grapes, as described by you, his listeners can at least formulate a plan before they start hacking. And wow – removing 90 to 95% of last years growth… Think they’re up to it? I don’t 
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Viron, the table grapes I mentioned are good, but I listed them largely because they are the most commonly available ones in the local nurseries. There are others of equal or better quality that don't show up in the standard garden centers that often or I would have mentioned more.
I don't push the standard wine grapes because most of the commercial ones like Pinot Noir, etc. are pure Vitis vinifera, which means they get mildew, bunch rot, and more in our climate. For home growers I'd rather recommend ones like Marechal Foch, Leon Millot, Seyval, Cayuga, Prairie Star, and a host of others that don't require disease control, make very decent wines, and usually ripen much earlier and more reliably than the "classic" grapes. Saves wear and tear on the grower, too.
Just found out that if you go to http://www.kxl.com and click on KXL talk shows, you can go to the archive of Mike's show and download a podcast. The show I was on will be up later this week.
And remember, the new grape pruning video at
http://www.bunchgrapes.com/dvd.html will show you what I was talking about. 
Idyllwild
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Viron
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