Simonit & Sirch Pruning Techniques

My husband has been investing a lot of time this winter in learning about a pruning technique called Simonit & Sirch. After 7 years of taking care of our grape vines, we have realized that pruning is a skill that is acquired through on the job training.
We have approximately 6,000 vines which means that we have 6,000 individuals each requiring it's own idiosyncratic handling during pruning.
Last year during pruning, we tried to ensure that our pruning did not lead to disease by "painting" the pruning wound with a sealant.
The Simonit & Sirch method of pruning aims to protect the pruned vines from trunk diseases and in the process extending the life of the vine. Their pruning method involves following the sap routes to reduce the probability of introducing infections. The vine develops a cone of desiccation as a reaction to being pruned inducing a necrosis that is 1.5 times longer than the diameter of the cut on the pruned spur or cane. So I believe that the pertinent advice here is to leave enough of the vine so that the cone of desiccation can form without impacting the living regions of the vine.

While my husband was doing his research, he came upon a blog written by Cameron Roucher, vineyard manager at Rathfinny, about being trained in the Simonit & Sirch technique and their implementation of the technique in their vineyard. We have communicated with Cameron over the years since we learned that they also had planted their vineyard with tall grafted vines so, when my husband sent Cameron an email, Cameron wrote right back and included some photos.

Every year we learn a little more about how to prune the vines so that they are healthy and produce new shoots for the following year. We will be trying the Simonit & Sirch method this year.
Reference:
1. Pruning With Regard to Sap Flux.