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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 115 / Thursday, June 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
This final rule is effective July 19, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 12, Washington, DC 20005;
phone 2024531039, ext. 175.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:

Background on Viticultural Areas
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TTB Authority Section 105e of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act FAA Act, 27
U.S.C. 205e, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages. The FAA Act provides that these regulations should, among other things, prohibit consumer deception and the use of misleading statements on labels, and ensure that labels provide the consumer with adequate information as to the identity and quality of the product. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau TTB administers the FAA Act pursuant to section 1111d of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, codified at 6 U.S.C. 531d. The Secretary has delegated the functions and duties in the administration and enforcement of these provisions to the TTB Administrator through Treasury Order 12001, dated December 10, 2013
superseding Treasury Order 12001, dated January 24, 2003.
Part 4 of the TTB regulations 27 CFR
part 4 authorizes TTB to establish definitive viticultural areas and regulate the use of their names as appellations of origin on wine labels and in wine advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB
regulations 27 CFR part 9 sets forth standards for the preparation and submission to TTB of petitions for the establishment or modification of American viticultural areas AVAs and lists the approved AVAs.
Definition Section 4.25e1i of the TTB
regulations 27 CFR 4.25e1i defines a viticultural area for American wine as a delimited grape-growing region having distinguishing features, as described in part 9 of the regulations, and a name and a delineated boundary, as established in part 9 of the regulations.
These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of a wine made from grapes grown in an area to the wines geographic origin. The establishment of AVAs allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify wines they may
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purchase. Establishment of an AVA is neither an approval nor an endorsement by TTB of the wine produced in that area.
Requirements Section 4.25e2 of the TTB
regulations 27 CFR 4.25e2 outlines the procedure for proposing an AVA
and provides that any interested party may petition TTB to establish a grapegrowing region as an AVA. Section 9.12
of the TTB regulations 27 CFR 9.12
prescribes standards for petitions for the establishment or modification of AVAs.
Petitions to establish an AVA must include the following:
Evidence that the area within the proposed AVA boundary is nationally or locally known by the AVA name specified in the petition;
An explanation of the basis for defining the boundary of the proposed AVA;
A narrative description of the features of the proposed AVA affecting viticulture, such as climate, geology, soils, physical features, and elevation, that make the proposed AVA distinctive and distinguish it from adjacent areas outside the proposed AVA;
If the proposed AVA is to be established within, or overlapping, an existing AVA, an explanation that both identifies the attributes of the proposed AVA that are consistent with the existing AVA and explains how the proposed AVA is sufficiently distinct from the existing AVA and therefore appropriate for separate recognition;
The appropriate United States Geological Survey USGS maps showing the location of the proposed AVA, with the boundary of the proposed AVA clearly drawn thereon;
and A detailed narrative description of the proposed AVA boundary based on USGS map markings.
The Burn of Columbia Valley Petition TTB received a petition from Kevin Corliss, Vice President of Vineyards for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Joan R.
Davenport, Professor of Soil Sciences at Washington State University, and John Derrick, Vice President of Operations for Mercer Ranches, Inc., proposing to establish The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA. The proposed AVA is located in Klickitat County, Washington, and lies entirely within the established Columbia Valley AVA 27
CFR 9.74. Within the 16,870-acre proposed AVA, there are 3 commercial vineyards, which cover a total of approximately 1,261 acres and are owned by two different entities. The distinguishing features of the proposed
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The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA are its soils, climate, and topography.
The soils of the proposed The Burn of Columbia Valley are primarily silty loams in the taxonomic order Mollisols.
The soils are described as having good plant-available water holding capacity that are capable of delivering sufficient water to the vines during the growing season. The soils are also relatively high in organic material and provide adequate nutrients, particularly nitrogen, to the vines. The most common soil series and complexes in the proposed AVA are Walla Walla silt loam without cemented substratum, Rock outcropHaploxeroll complex, HaploxerollFluvaquent complex, Fluventic HaploxerollRiverwash complex, Rock outcrop Rubble and Complex, Wato silt loam, Walla Walla silt loam with cemented substratum, Endicott silt loam, and EndicottMoxee complex.
The climate within the proposed The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA is characterized by an average annual growing degree day 1 GDD
accumulation of 2,763 GDDs, with a minimum of 2,405 GDDs and a maximum of 3,249 GDDs. The average annual GDD accumulations favor the production of grape varietals with higher heat unit requirements, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, which are the two most commonly grown grape varietals within the proposed AVA. The proposed AVA receives an average of 8.76 inches of precipitation annually, with a minimum of 6.65
inches and a maximum of 10.44 inches.
Low annual rainfall amounts mean that vineyards within the proposed AVA
require supplemental irrigation.
The topography of the proposed The Burn of Columbia Valley AVA is comprised of gently sloping bench lands above the Columbia River. The average slope angle within the proposed AVA is 7.27 percent, which is suitable for mechanical cultivation of vineyards, yet is steep enough to avoid the pooling of cold air that could damage grapes. The proposed AVA also has a large, contiguous expanse of land with easterly and southern aspects, as well as a southeasterly aspect, which allows excellent sunlight exposure for vineyards.
To the east-northeast and northwest of the proposed AVA, the soils include series and complexes that are not 1 See Albert J. Winkler et al., General Viticulture Berkeley: University of California Press, 2nd. ed.
1974, pages 6164. In the Winkler scale, the GDD
regions are defined as follows: Region I = less than 2,500 GDDs; Region II = 2,5013,000 GDDs; Region III = 3,0013,500 GDDs; Region IV = 3,5014,000
GDDs; Region V = greater than 4,000 GDDs.

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