Rep. Huffman Applauds New American Viticultural Area for Mendocino County

October 14, 2014

WASHINGTON­—Today, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) applauded the establishment of the new Eagle Peak Mendocino County Viticultural Area in Mendocino County.  The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) designates American viticultural areas (AVAs) to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. The new AVA will take effect on November 10, 2014.

In September of 2013, Congressman Huffman wrote a letter to the TTB supporting the creation of the new AVA:

“This new AVA is distinctive in its topography, climate and soil as presented in the application and would be valuable for those distinctions as well as for marketing and economic benefits it would yield,” Congressman Huffman wrote in the letter. “Modifying the boundaries of the Redwood Valley and Mendocino County AVAs would add an additional value for consumers, as well as the trade and the media, by removing confusion for the Eagle Peak Mendocino County viticultural area.”

As proposed in last week’s Federal Register, the Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA contains approximately 26,260 acres, of which approximately 120 acres are dedicated to 16 commercially producing vineyards. The AVA lies to the west of both the Redwood Valley AVA and the eastern portion of the V-shaped Mendocino AVA. The Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA will remain part of the larger North Coast AVA.

A map of the proposed AVA may be found HERE.

For a wine to be labeled with an AVA name or with a brand name that includes an AVA name, at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the area represented by that name.

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