Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/138003
EAST COAST WATCH MARGUERITE THOMAS Appellation Consternation Questioning the validity of the AVA system ith all the other information crowded onto the front of a wine bottle – winery name, grape variety, vintage, perhaps a proprietary or brand name – how relevant is an AVA designation? Does this extra clutter on the label really say anything about the wine inside that bottle, or is the appellation information simply another marketing gimmick? Do consumers pay any more attention to the appellation on the front label than to the "Government Warning" on the back? It strikes me that with a growing number of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) already designated – more than 200 – and with sub-appellations proliferating faster than puppy and kitten blogs, these are questions worth considering. But for them to be taken seriously, the answers must be framed in a historical context. The modern method of defining and protecting select viticultural regions in most of the world, including the United States, is modeled on the French system, Appellation d'Origine Controllée (AOC). We tend to think of AOC as a quality-control process relating to vineyards and wine, but it also applies to other gastronomic products, including butter, meat and lentils. France's AOC criteria are considerably more detailed and rigorous than the U.S. AVAs: among other things, AOC laws govern the precise area where grapes for wine production are grown, specific varieties allowed for each region and permissible yields per hectare, and make stipulations about pruning, irrigation, trellising and other viticulture methods. w w w. v w m media.com In the U.S., the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is responsible for regulating the geographic boundaries of AVAs, but beyond this, it has little say in vineyard practices. U.S. vintners can plant whatever grape they want and harvest as large a crop as they wish. Only the boundaries of the land are regulated, while wine quality in any appellation is determined by the individuals who produce it. The only requirement for labeling a wine with an AVA is that 85% of that wine must be made from grapes grown within the AVA boundaries. The nation's first AVA was granted to Augusta, Mo., in 1980. Napa Valley was next, in January 1981. The third AVA was granted to Michigan's Fennville in October of 1981. I asked some pioneering producers from + There are more than 200 Michigan to share their AVAs in the United States. thoughts about how the + Some AVAs have been AVA system has evolved. established largely for marT h e n , a s n o w, s a i d keting purposes. Eddie O'Keefe, getting an AVA established can + Millennials appear to care be a lonely proposition. more than their elders about In 1974, O'Keefe's father AVAs. (also named Edward) began + The AVA system isn't perplanting vinifera vines at his fect, yet it gives consumers Michigan estate, Chateau some idea of where the Grand Traverse, and later grapes were grown for the became the leading force wines they purchase. behind the creation of the Old Mission Peninsula AVA (granted in 1987). But the AT A GLANCE J u l y - A u g 2 0 13 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 27