Reddit reviews From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

If you want to get serious about home wine making, I'd recommend picking up a couple books.

http://www.amazon.com/From-Vines-Wines-Complete-Growing/dp/1580171052

http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Backyard-Vineyard-Step-Step/dp/1604692855

I haven't started any vines yet, but when I buy a property this fall I hope to. These books are fantastic.

To answer your question about pruning, by removing fruit and shoots back to the buds, you're allowing the vine to focus it's energy into developing a strong root system. There are many methods of doing this. Here is one, but different varietals have different preferred methods.

https://urbanwinegrower.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/three-yr-captioned-prune.jpg

I know I've recommended it here before, so forgive me if I'm a bit of a broken record, but From Vines to Wines is exactly what you need.

As far as oaking the wine, 6 months is not much time in the scheme of things. Our reds can spend anywhere from 18-24+ months in the barrel before bottling. I totally get where you're coming from about the sulfites limiting your timeframe, but just realize that with that constraint, you're not going to have the time to impart a lot of flavor from the oak.

I don't know what kind of chips you're using, but if they're French or Hungarian you might wanna see if you can find American oak. The wide grain means it's going to lack the subtlety of the European varieties, but it might give you the punch you need in the short term.

All that being said, Pinot is fairly delicate and shouldn't be overwhelmed by the oak. If you're getting a little vanilla, consider your job done and enjoy. You don't wanna be sucking on bark.

That's kind of a big question. But I'd recommend you start by reading as much as you can. That way you'll have a better idea what you're getting yourself into. And you can start to answer questions about what specifically you want to do. What kind of vineyard do you want? How big? Where? What do you want to grow? Here's a couple good resources to get you started:

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/fruitpathology/Bulletins/mw_grape_12aug05%20S.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Vines-Wines-Complete-Growing-Grapes/dp/1580171052

I went through our local UC Cooperative Master Gardener program and also read up on a few books.

http://www.amazon.com/From-Vines-Wines-Complete-Growing/dp/1580171052

It also helps to volunteer as a host at a local winery where you pour for guests. At a smaller winery you usually get to talk to the winemaker and get some ideas on what works in you area. I also found going up to Napa and shopping at the vineyard supply stores gave me a lot of insight on what worked and what didn't.

http://aj-vineyardsupply.com/

http://www.orchardvalleysupply.com/

http://www.jimssupply.com/Category/Vineyard_Supplies

As for getting vines I started mine from cuttings of neighbors and friend's vineyards. Don't forget the rooting hormone powder.

http://hormex.com/labels/BCC_No8.pdf

Otherwise you can order the vines from nurseries listed on the Univerity of California National Grape Registry

http://ngr.ucdavis.edu/disclaimer.cfm?returnpage=/index.cfm

Have fun and good luck!

If you'll be doing anything at all with the vines, From Vines to Wine is a really great book. I'm just finishing it up. It's very well written, and just comprehensive enough to give you a working foundation without overwhelming you.

https://www.amazon.com/Vines-Wines-Complete-Growing-Grapes/dp/1580171052