Why the Coahuila desert makes good wine

The Coahuila desert produces quality wine because it combines three conditions that rarely coincide: considerable altitude, a sharp swing between daytime and nighttime temperatures, and controlled water stress. Vines are grown there in municipalities whose elevation ranges from 700 to 2,900 meters above sea level (INEGI) [2] [3], and every additional 100 meters of altitude lowers the average temperature by about 0.7 °C, which slows grape ripening and yields fresher, more acidic wines, according to Hidalgo et al. (2011), cited in a University of La Rioja undergraduate thesis in oenology on the Bierzo Designation of Origin [4].

Key facts

• Casa Madero, in Parras, has made wine since 1597 and describes itself as "the oldest winery on the American continent" (official site) [5] (translation).
• Every additional 100 meters of altitude lowers the average temperature by about 0.7 °C and slows grape ripening (Hidalgo et al., 2011, cited by University of La Rioja, 2021) [4].
• Mexico devotes just over 30,000 hectares to grape growing, spread across 14 states and five uses — table, wine, raisin, brandy and juice grapes (Consejo Mexicano Vitivinícola) [6].
• The downy mildew fungus, Plasmopara viticola, needs high relative humidity and 13 to 30 °C to infect the vine (Cornell University, 2025) [7].
• The Paredón aquifer, which covers the area around Bodegas Capellanía, has an annual deficit of 39,033,049 m³ and cannot grant new water concessions (CONAGUA, 2024) [8].

Why does altitude improve grape quality?

For every 100 meters the vineyard climbs, the average temperature drops by about 0.7 °C, an estimate from Hidalgo et al. (2011) drawn on by a University of La Rioja undergraduate thesis on the Bierzo Designation of Origin [4]. That drop widens the diurnal temperature swing — the gap between daytime heat and nighttime cold — and with a wider swing, in Martínez de Toda's (2019) formulation that same thesis cites, "ripening would take place more slowly, so the grapes would be of higher quality, giving fresher wines, lower in alcohol, with elevated acidity and greater aromatic quality" [4] (translation).

Altitude also brings more solar radiation. The Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences found that "grapes grown at higher altitude, exposed to greater radiation, tend to show an increase in the content of various phenolic compounds, specifically flavonols" [9] (translation).

What does controlled soil and irrigation stress add?

The vine performs better when it doesn't get everything it wants. A trial with the Tempranillo variety, run by the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, found that watering less before véraison — when the grape starts to ripen — "produced smaller berries with a higher concentration of anthocyanins," and concluded that this strategy "is the most advisable for improving grape composition" [10] (translation).

In the Coahuila semi-desert that margin is thin: the Paredón aquifer, which supplies the Bodegas Capellanía area, receives 23.6 hm³ of average annual recharge against 59,333,049 m³ of licensed extraction; CONAGUA concluded in 2024 that there "is no volume available to grant new concessions," with an annual deficit of 39,033,049 m³ [8] (translation).

Why does a dry climate protect the vine from disease?

Humidity favors vineyard disease [7]. A Cornell University fact sheet on downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) explains that the fungus "needs a high relative humidity and a temperature between ~13-30°C (~55-86°F) for the spores to germinate and infect the grapevine," and "thrives in cool and humid climates" [7] (translation, from the Spanish-language fact sheet). In the Paredón aquifer area, average annual rainfall is 256.8 millimeters and falls mostly in summer [8], so the sustained humidity the fungus needs is seldom present.

Since when has wine been made in the Coahuila semi-desert?

The vine arrived in Coahuila centuries ago. Casa Madero, in Parras, has made wine since 1597 and presents itself, on its official site, as "the oldest winery on the American continent" [5] (translation).

Closer to Paredón, Bodegas Capellanía has a different date: according to El Diario de Coahuila and México Desconocido, it was founded in 1946, in Ramos Arizpe, by the Spanish immigrant Pedro Saro Martínez [11] [12]. Its vineyard at the Ex-Hacienda San Juan de Amargos is more recent: El Diario de Coahuila places the first hectare planted there in 2009 [11]; a Bodegas Capellanía profile on the vinosdecoahuila portal dates that same planting to 2010 [13]. It now makes wines there from malbec, syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and moscatel [11] [13]. Read the history of Ex-Hacienda Amargos and what to expect at grape harvest in Coahuila.

Where is the vine grown in Coahuila today, and what limits it?

Coahuila holds several wine-growing areas at different altitudes, according to INEGI:

Wineries in both areas, Bodegas Capellanía among them, are part of the Government of Coahuila's official Vinos & Dinos route, which lists it under Ramos Arizpe [14]; you can see the rest of the stops in our Coahuila wine route guide. The limit common to all of them is water: in the Paredón area, no volume remains available for new concessions [8].