| A Grape Wine AVA is that a WHO or What? (American Viticultural Area) | | | | By: James Bogaty |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
The Great Grape
By Jim Bogaty
Romancing the grape
A Grape Wine AVA is that a WHO or What? (American Viticultural Area)
What is a Wine Appellations or American Viticultural Area and what does that mean to the grape?
Any grape that will become a great wine must begin and end with the terroir.
A " terroir " is a group of vineyards (or even grape vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine.
When you visit a set of wineries you will be in areas that have been designated official wine growing regions called American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Here are some important ideas that will help you understand what the meaning is of these grape wine growing regions. Instead of Appellations, the United States uses the term American Viticultural Areas or AVA for short. AVAs are “official” grape growing regions that have been designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
An American system implemented in 1978 to identify U.S. Grape Wines in a fashion similar to the French APPELLATION D'ORIGINE CONTRÔLÉE SYSTEM. American viticulture areas (AVA’s) are grape wine growing areas approved by the Bureau, and are the American appellation of origin that most closely resembles European appellations of origin. In theory, they indicate a common soil and microclimate for grape growing.
In the United States, labeling and other aspects of the sale of wine are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). An AVA is defined strictly by a geographic area, whereas in France the parameters are much more precise. A French AOC identifies the grape varieties that may be grown in a geographic area, the maximum production per acre, the minimum level of alcohol required for wines produced in the area, and so forth. The only requirement for wine with an AVA designation on the label is that 85 percent of the grapes must be grown in that viticultural area. Growers must petition the Tax and Trade Bureau to obtain an AVA designation for a region. The Bureau's decision is based on such characteristics as an area's topography, soil type, climate, elevation, and, to some extent, historical precedent. AVAs range in size from several hundred acres to several million; some reside within other larger AVAs.
Requirements to be an AVA
Current regulations impose the following additional requirements on an AVA:
Evidence that the name of the proposed new AVA is locally or nationally known as referring to the area; Historical or current evidence that the boundaries are legitimate;
Evidence that growing conditions such as climate, soil, elevation, and physical features are distinctive; Petitioners are required to provide such information when applying for a new AVA, and are also required to use USGS maps to both describe (using terms from the map) and depict the boundaries.
When an AVA is designated on the grape wine bottle’s label, 85% of that wine must come from the AVA. AVAs are geographic locations that have the same climate, soil, and elevation and similar properties that give the wine a certain characteristic. Viticultural areas are to appellations like grapes are to fruit. Viticultural areas are one kind of appellation. Not all appellations are viticultural areas. An appellation of origin can be the name of a country, the name of a state or states, the name of a county or counties within a state. Viticultural areas are a hybrid appellation. In size, they range from extremely small to extremely large (larger than a few states). In terms of plantings, a viticultural area may be filled with vineyards or could be almost sparse. In terms of quality, there is no guarantee that a wine labeled with a viticultural area is any better or worse than wines that don't bear such information
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