Just north of Chicago, I've wintered mine for the last couple of years by bringing it inside to my mudroom (it's also in a pot). It's unheated with fairly low light. I only water it a little bit every couple of weeks throughout the winter. In cold snaps it gets pretty chilly in there but it's not exposed to the really harsh cold. I've never cut it back and it's now quite large--I have a 6 foot trellis/obelisk in the pot and keep winding the branches around it. Do you have basement or porch you can keep it on? I also bring it inside because the pot could crack. Up here I worry about the wind temperatures if it sits outside but you probably wouldn't have that in your area.