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Nevada, one of the 50 United States of America, is located in the west of the country, bordered by Oregon and Idaho to the north and California to the west. The state covers 110,500 square miles (286,000 square km) and stretches between the northern latitudes of 35 and 42 degrees.
Despite its name, which translates as 'snow-capped' (after the Sierra Nevada mountain range), Nevada has an arid, hot climate, far from ideal for growing vines. It is also a place of climatic extremes, where summer daytime temperatures reach more than 122F (50C) and winter nights regularly fall below -40F/C. This degree of seasonal change and diurnal temperature variation is simply too great for most vines to endure, particularly when compounded by extreme dryness; Nevada receives an average of only seven inches (180mm) of rain per year.
As in many US states, government-supported research has been carried out (mostly by the University of Nevada) to identify those wine-grape varieties best suited to the desert climate. In 1995, a one-acre plot was planted within the grounds of the University of Nevada's campus in Reno. Some grapes have proved more resilient to the arid conditions and extreme temperature changes than others; Gewurztraminer, Semillon and Chardonnay are so far the most promising varieties, while Muller-Thurgau and Muscat Blanc were eliminated during the early stages of testing. Planting more sensitive varieties has proved to be a gamble, something best left to the state's largest city, Las Vegas.
However unlikely it may seem, there are wineries in Nevada, although they number fewer than five. Pahrump, a town in the very southern corner of the state, is home to two of these.
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