The Desert WIne Guy - Las Vegas Climate And The growing Of Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes.

   Growing almost anything here in the Las Vegas desert would seem to many be almost impossible, I know it did to me.  How about the idea of growing a vineyard?  Is such a thing possible in the heat and dryness of Las Vegas where The Desert Wine Guy lives? Well that just so happens to be the subject of this article. Today we are going to discuss soil and climate influences on Cabernet Sauvignon in particular and on the vineyard as a whole. Those us us who are interested in growing, or the growth of grapes (or any plant for that matter) know that soil and climate we grow our plants in is very important. According to the Southern Valley Water Authority (the water company) The Las Vegas soil is clay sand, rock & Caliche. I know that doesn't seem to great for growing grapes of all things. That is also what I thought until I saw it done. I know when I thought of grapes I always thought of Napa Valley where for the most part they have a darker soil full of nutrients. That was all proven wrong when I planted my vineyard. Las Vegas soil does have it's drawbacks initially. For those of you who live in a part of the country that does not have Caliche, Caliche is super hard rocks that can come in different sizes up to the size of boulders and large areas of super hard rock and require special machines to break up and can be very expensive especially when putting in a pool. The soil here in Vegas is supposed to be lacking of many nutrients and are missing the proper alkalinity or PH to really support plants properly. There are some articles that claim that the native soil here is also salty. If you notice, I used the word "supposed" above. I say this because I have a very beautiful garden in the summer. I have plants actually have plants that grow back in the winter, by themselves. Right now I actually have a Kale plant that came back by itself. I also have onions that have been growing, again by themselves. In a week or two as the weather starts to stay warmer at night I will have mint and Celery come back just as I did last year. Last year I actually planted my vegetables garden in early February and had no issues. For the past two years I have grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and they have grown beautifully. They developed full canopy's, produced tons of grapes and stayed healthy all year other then Skeltonizer (see my past article on this pest). I have never added any fertilizer although this year when I re-did my vineyard I did bring in soil that had fertilizer in it simply because I had the opportunity to do it easily. How I can get away with growing plants and a vineyard in the past with native soil I don't know but I am not complaining.  If there really is such a thing as a "green thumb" I might just have one. Lets start looking into climate and soil conditions and just how they effect our Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.
    Since Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the last major grape varieties to bud as well as ripen. This plays a major role in why the grape does so well here in Vegas. The weather the vine grows in determines it's suitability as a varietal wine as well as when it's grapes ripen or even if the get a chance to ripen.  Gravel, clay and Limestone soils such as here in Vegas are perfect soils for Cabernet. The gravel benefits the vine by assisting in drainage and taking the heat away from the roots. The clay and limestone in the soil usually helps keep the soil cooler which allows less heat to reach the vines and in turn keeps the yields naturally low. There is even something called "Rutherford Dust" which is supposed to add to the taste of a Rutherford Cabernet. The Rutherford Dust comes from the fact that Rutherford California has soil which is considered dusty. There are also some climate and soil characteristics that actually effect the taste of the grape. In a climate (soil) that has more Prazine compounds. The main Prazine  we worry about is Methoxypyrazines since in large enough quantities it can ruin the flavor of the wine. Their threshold in red wine, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, has been reported to be as low as 10 to 15 parts per trillion. But within the range of their occurrence, their aroma can be overpowering and unpleasant. Thankfully Methoxypyrazines decreases as the grape ripens. Picking grapes to early can also mean a strong Methoxypyrazines flavor. The best way to describe thesecharacteristics  are, vegetal. A study was done that showed that in Cabernet Sauvignon after racking most of the pyrazine (methoxypyrazines) was extracted from the grapes withing 24 hours of crushing. The study also showed that aging a wine does not effect the level of pyrazine present. This is great news for Cabernet Sauvignon which loves aging. A last word about pyrazines is they can contribute to a wine having that "Green Pepper Flavor" but again this impact is only when a grape is picked early. The flavors imparted by pyrazine are also dependent on the wine making process. One other factor which is part of climate is weather. Depending on the area of the country you live in also matters. If you live in a place that has a very short growing season (think lack of sun) due to the weather then Cabernet Sauvignon is not for you. The grape is slow to flower (which helps avoid frost injury) and slow to grow so it needs a long growing season. Here in Vegas we have that covered very well and I have no problems with growth thanks to the Vegas sun and soil. The weather conditions here do however cause a slight hindrance and that is that Cabernet Sauvignon develops a dense canopy and the sun has a hard time getting thru this canopy to the grapes at times so canopy management is essential to the grapes growing well. If your climate is too cold or doesn't warm up enough you stand the risk of the grapes not fully ripening "Green Pepper Flavor". Poor canopy management can also lead to poor fruit pigmentation, high pH, and reduced varietal aroma. Rain is another problem. If the climate you live in brings to much rain that is also bad. Rain means clouds and clouds of course mean no sun. Rain also means that the grapes take on more water which dilutes the taste of the grape. With too much rain, the grape berries start to swell and can split, and then you have to worry about spoilage, mold and mildew. Rain is also a concern in the spring. Grapes are formed from flowers,  a heavy rain can knock the blooms off the plant and reduce the size of the crop. Damp conditions can also lead to mildew and other diseases. To make things easier for us to know what to grow or what varieties to grow areas of the country are broken down into zones or hardiness zones . For our purpose which is  growing Cabernet Sauvignon, the zones 5 – 8 are what is preferred. There are also Sunset Zones which is determined by the following factors. Summer temperature, rainfall, humidity, elevation and wind. In Las Vegas we are actually zone 8-9 and normally we only have to worry about the wind. There is also the problem of pests. Depending on the (climate) zone you live in there are certain pests that you have to worry about and certain ones you don't have to worry about.
   I hope this article has shed some light for you on the idea of growing Cabernet Sauvignon here in the desert or for that matter where you in particular live. I have tried to provide all relevant climate information to help you determine how to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. If you need any more help or information please get with me on The Desert Wine Guy Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?ref=hl and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

                                                                                                       The Desert Wine Guy