What's in a name?

I'll take this opportunity to point out a recent intersection of wine and politics. After several years of consideration, including a fair amount of controversy, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Calistoga as the newest American Viticultural Area (AVA).

So what does that mean? You might not have given much thought to the writing on your wine label beyond the name of the winery and the varietal (the type of grape(s)). To help consumers make informed decisions, and to give viticulturalists the opportunity to showcase the nuances of the grapes they grow, the federal TTB sets standards that govern when wines must carry the name of their origin and what name they can list.

You probably have noticed the name "California" or "Napa County" on your wine bottle. These are known as appellations and indicate where the grapes used to make the wine were grown. The TTB requires an appellation of origin be listed when the label includes, among certain other information, a vintage or a varietal. The winery may list an appellation of origin if at least 75% of the grapes to make the wine were grown in that place. So when a winemaker sources grapes from across California's Central and Northern Coasts to churn out 200,000 cases of wine at $8 a bottle, you will see "California" on the label (in at least 2mm print). If the winemaker chooses instead to use grapes grown mostly in Sonoma County, that is the name you will see. That wine might also cost a few dollars more, as Sonoma County as a whole tends to be a pretty good place to grow grapes and it has a certain amount of name recognition and cache (it's also a smaller area than the state, so fewer grapes in a favorable area increases the price per ton).

Moving on from appellation of origin, there is a more specialized naming system called viticultural area of origin. These are areas with distinct physical boundaries (mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, etc.) and characteristics (sandy, loamy, or volcanic soils, arid, cool, warm, high altitude, etc.) that give rise to distinct growing conditions and distinct flavors. AVAs can be quite small; some more popular names in California include Alexander Valley (32,536 acres), Rutherford (6,650 acres), Oakville (5,760 acres), and Stags Leap District (2,700 acres). If you're touring Northern California's wine country, you won't always know that you've left one AVA and entered another. The TTB considers applications for AVAs, and they require that at least 85% of the grapes used to make a bottle of AVA-designated wine must have been grown in that area.

The stakes can be quite high for getting a new AVA approved, as some wineries' reputations have been made based on their location in a well-known AVA. The areas I listed above also happen to include historic, well-known wineries including Beaulieu Vineyards, Quintessa, Caymus (all Rutherford), Opus One, Robert Mondavi, Silver Oak (all Oakville), Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and Clos du Val (both Stags Leap District).

The historic area of Calistoga had never been granted an AVA. The application, spearheaded by Master Winemaker Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena in Calistoga (who was also depicted in the enjoyable 2008 movie Bottle Shock) ran into trouble when two wineries, Calistoga Cellars and Calistoga Estate Vineyards, complained that approval of the AVA, and the ensuing labeling restrictions, would unfairly hurt their business. By virtue of the new AVA name prominently displayed on their labels, they will either need to start using at least 85% Calistoga-grown grapes in their wines or change the name of their winery. The TTB proposed a compromise that would have grandfathered in the two operations, but a massive effort by winemakers, vintners, and trade associations throughout the west coast squelched that idea.

Barrett says that he is already placing orders for labels that show a Calistoga viticultural area of origin.