Viticulture

Area vintners criticize proposed wine label rules

They say the change would undermine the point of appellation designations and lead to customers being misled about where the grapes come from

By Raven J. Railey

With applications for smaller wine regions proliferating, the federal bureau that controls wine labeling is seeking a “comprehensive review” of how viticultural areas are defined.

Two proposed rules, spurred by a four-year effort to define a Calistoga appellation within the Napa region, could lead to misleading wine labels, local opponents say.

At issue is whether two wineries using “Calistoga” in brand names would be able to continue those brands without the minimum percentage of grapes from that area.

“Our objective is to strike a balance between protecting existing enterprises and protecting against consumer deception,” said Art Resnick, spokesman for the U.S. Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Wineries consider labels a key marketing tool. Petitions for new regions, called appellations, often are driven by a desire to protect a regional name or to distinguish a certain area in consumer’s minds. Federally controlled, they are defined by a region’s history and environmental characteristics that can affect the grapes’ flavors.

The new proposals have drawn criticism from many in the state, including the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, the Napa Valley Vintners Association and the Napa Chamber of Commerce. Opponents also are lobbying state and federal representatives to chime in.

“As a consumer, you assume if you see that name, the grapes come from that area,” said Stacie Jacob, executive director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance.

At least 80 percent of each bottle must come from the defined appellation on the label, which can be as vast as “California” or as small as York Mountain, a tiny region with one winery west of Paso Robles.

When established, the requirement exempted wineries using labels created before July 7, 1986. The bureau’s proposed “grandfather” rule would exempt wineries in business for five years and using a label for at least three years before a petition for a new region is filed.

“(The regulations) weren’t forward-thinking,” Resnick said. “They didn’t take into consideration new brands that weren’t protected.”

Robert Haas and other vintners think such a change undermines the point of appellation designations — to provide consistent, accurate information. The founding partner of Tablas Creek Vineyard, Haas is a member of the alliance’s appellation committee.

“They want to protect (the wineries) by allowing them to mislabel wine,” Haas said. “It’s up to the members of the industry to uphold the integrity of American wine labeling.”

Haas thinks the bureau should be stricter in approving labels and warn wineries with geographic names that they could lose that right if a new appellation is approved later on.

Local vintners are also concerned new language might prohibit wineries in smaller regions from using the name of its larger region. For example, wineries in the Adelaida appellation, which sits inside the Paso Robles region, can now list both names to draw consumers.

“We don’t want to lose the Paso Robles name, which we’ve spent time, energy and money promoting,” Haas said. “Who knows Adelaida? Not so long ago, they didn’t know what Paso Robles was. But for people who are really aware, they know what Adelaida looks like as opposed to Templeton.”