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New wine growing regions officially declared in California, Washington
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- Written by Randol White
WASHINGTON D.C. — Vintners in certain areas of both California and Washington states can now be more label specific about the origins of their wine. The federal government's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved over the past several weeks more than 100,000 acres of newly designated or expanded appellations.
Wine producers often lobby for years to establish specific appellations for their grapes, in an effort to distinguish their wines from those produced with grapes from less desirable regions. In some cases, an already established zone is simply considered too broad because it includes a wide variety of soils, topography, and microclimates.
The latest area to gain official federal recognition lies just east of the City of Napa and is named the Coombsville Viticulture Area. This 11,075 acre zone is in Southern Napa County and lies entirely within the already existing and broader Napa Valley and North Coast appellations.
Wineries in this new zone include Bighorn Cellars, Laird Family Estate, Farella-Park Vineyards, and Monticello Cellars. All four wineries told the TTB in writing that they will be able to comply with the rule that at least 85 percent of the wine must be produced from grapes grown within the boundary of the Coombsville viticultural area in order to use the ‘‘Coombsville’’ name on the label as an appellation of origin.
The TTB has also designated the new Fort Ross Seaview Viticulture Area along the Sonoma County coast. This 27,500-acre zone is the final result of a 2003 petition placed by Patrick Shabram and David Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards. The Fort Ross-Seaview appellation is located between 920 and 1,800 feet in elevation, a zone typically above the coastal fog.
(Reaction to the Fort Ross Seaview zone creation can be read in this Wine Spectator article)
In Washington State, the TTB designated the new 13,254 acrea Naches Heights Viticultural Area in Yakima County. It's located entirely within the larger Columbia Valley viticultural area and northwest of the City of Yakima. Wilridge Winery and Vineyard owner, R. Paul Beveridge, petitioned for the designation.
Back in November the TTB made Sonoma County's Russian River Valley viticulture area larger by 14,044 acres and approved the Northern Sonoma viticultural area at 44,244 acres.
(Negative reaction to the Russian River expansion can be found in this Wines & Vines article)
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Photo credit: WikiMedia - A Pinot Noir vineyard at the Hartford Family Winery in the Russian River Valley AVA of Sonoma County, California. Kharker
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