Wine

What’s in a Name?

The Appellation Game

Kent Rosenblum
Photo by PlumpJack Winer

"Appellation” sounds like an Eastern mountain range but what we’re talking about here is government-approved grape-growing regions and areas. These areas exist not only in the United States of America, but also in most civilized countries that have commercial viticulture, and some developing countries as well. Appellations are often times the defining factor of the value of a grape crop grown in a specific area.
    For example, Napa Valley is a very spe-cific defined appellation, and so is Lake County; however, the grapes grown in Napa will be worth four times the Lake County fruit based on historical value of the wine produced and the eventual bottle price. So if you are a grower located on the Napa-Lake border, with grapes of the same kind grown in both appellations, for your pocketbook, you would prefer to be on the Napa side, even though the grapes would be virtually the same quality from either side of the vineyard.
    In the United States, these viticultural areas are known as AVAs, or American Viticultural Areas,‑and there are at current count 145 of them officially approved. California has the majority, and the rest are spread around the country, as there are now wineries in every state, even Alaska. In France these regions are known as Appellation Contrôlé areas; Italy, Spain, Romania and Croatia all have their own defined areas. Europe is generally much more defined in terms of sub-appellations. European wines are named for these little regions and vineyards, and not for the kind of grape that is in the bottle, such as Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon.
    The government body regulating these areas in the United States is known as the TTB, or Tax and Trade Bureau. It says that every labeled product for commercial sale needs a label that states the varietals (e.g., Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, etc.)‑and an appellation (e.g.,‑Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley,‑San Francisco Bay, or just California to name a few).
    What defines an appellation and how is one created? An appellation is supposed to reflect a geographical area that has similar soils, climates, watershed and temperature parameters.‑To achieve this, larger appellations such as Sonoma County are broken up into smaller microclimate regions, such as Russian River Valley (has the afternoon fog),‑Dry Creek Valley (has alluvial soils, hot days and cooling afternoon ocean breezes), Alexander Valley (follows the upper Russian River, has much red clay soil and is known for soft wines) and Sonoma Valley (which surrounds the town of Sonoma and is influenced by the cooling San Francisco Bay breezes). There are other sub-appellations in Sonoma such as Green Valley and Sonoma Mountain, too numerous to list here.
    To create an AVA, one needs to start with a compelling story for the region in question, and then petition the TTB, which holds public hearings. After several years an appellation becomes official. Once a wine carries an official appellation on the label, its content legally has to be 85 percent from that appellation.
    As always, the key here is to enjoy the wine, not worry so much about where it came from. However, if you want to know, the appellation tells at least part of the story.