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Wine Appellations of Origin

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Introduction

This appellations of origin page is intended to serve as a "warehouse" of all U.S. and foreign appellations of origin. The information provided here is as comprehensive as possible based on the information available to us. First to be posted were U.S. appellations of origin—the approved U.S. viticultural areas identified in 27 CFR part 9, the 50 States, and U.S. counties. We are now adding, country by country, foreign appellations of origin as the respective foreign government verifies its information. We update the listing of U.S. viticultural areas whenever a new U.S. viticultural area is added to our regulations. Listings of foreign appellations of origin will be updated when we are officially notified of an addition or amendment by an authorized representative of the foreign government.

	Definition
	Application
	Requirements for Use
	When an Appellation of Origin is Required
	Type of Appellation of Origin Required
	Type Size Requirements
	Placement Requirements

Definition

Under U.S. regulations (specifically 27 CFR 4.25), an appellation of origin is:

• A country

• A U.S. state or the foreign equivalent

• For U.S. wine, a listing of up to 3 states (multi-state appellation)

• A U.S. county or the foreign equivalent

• For U.S. wine, a listing of up to 3 counties (multi-county appellation)

• A U.S. or foreign government recognized delimited grape-growing area (referred to as a “viticultural area” under U.S. regulations)

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Application

• Appellations of origin are only defined for use on wine

• All appellations of origin apply to grape wine

• U.S. or foreign viticultural area appellations of origin apply only to grape wine

• Country, state (or foreign equivalent), multi-state (U.S. wine only), county (or foreign equivalent) or multi-county (U.S. wine only) appellations of origin apply to non-grape wine only if permissible under the laws and regulations of the labeled appellation of origin

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Requirements for Use

Whether mandatory or optional, an appellation of origin may be used on a wine label only if:

For U.S. Wine:
- With an “American” (country), state or county appellation of origin:
  1. Not less than 75% of the volume of the wine is derived from grapes (or other agricultural commodity) grown in the labeled appellation of origin
  2. The wine is fully finished (except for cellar treatment and/or blending which does not alter the class and type of the wine) in the labeled appellation of origin EXCEPT THAT in the case of a state appellation of origin, the wine is fully finished (except for cellar treatment and/or blending which does not alter the class and type of the wine) in the labeled state or an adjacent state
  3. The wine conforms to the laws and regulations of the labeled appellation of origin governing the composition, method of production and designation of wine produced in the labeled appellation area
- With a multi-state appellation of origin comprised of not more than 3 states:
- With a multi-county appellation of origin comprised of not more than 3 counties:
  1. All of the counties are in the same state
  2. 100% of the wine is derived from grapes (or other agricultural commodity) grown in the labeled counties
  3. The percentage of wine derived from grapes (or other agricultural commodity) grown in each county is shown on the label
- With a viticultural area appellation of origin:
  1. The labeled area is an American viticultural area approved under U.S. regulations (specifically 27 CFR Part 9)
  2. Not less than 85% of the volume of the wine is derived from grapes grown in the labeled viticultural area
  3. The wine is fully finished (except for cellar treatment and/or blending which does not alter the class and type of the wine) in the state or one of the states where the viticultural area is located

For Imported Wine:
- With a country, foreign equivalent of a state or foreign equivalent of a county appellation of origin:
  1. Not less than 75% of the volume of the wine is derived from grapes (or other agricultural commodity) grown in the labeled appellation of origin
  2. The wine conforms to the requirements of the foreign laws and regulations governing the composition, method of production and designation of wine available within the country of origin
- With a Viticultural Area Appellation of Origin:
  1. The labeled area is recognized by the government of the country of origin as a delimited grape-growing/viticultural area
  2. Not less than 85% of the volume of the wine is derived from grapes grown in the labeled viticultural area
  3. The wine conforms to the requirements of the foreign laws and regulations governing the composition, method of production and designation of wine available within the country of origin

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When an Appellation of Origin is Required

Generally, appellations of origin are only required for grape wine
An appellation of origin is required on grape wine when the wine is labeled with:

A grape varietal designation
One of the following designations AND the wine is NOT from the origin indicated:*

Angelica (U.S.)
Burgundy (France)
Claret (France)
Chablis (France)
Champagne (France)
Chianti (Italy)
Haut Sauterne (France)
Hock (Germany)
Malaga (Spain)
Marsala (Italy)
Madeira (Portugal)
Moselle (France)
Port (Portugal)
Rhine Wine (Germany)
Sauterne (France)
Sherry (Spain)
Tokay (Hungary)

*There has been a change relative to the use of all of the above names except Angelica. On March 10, 2006, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) signed an Agreement on Trade in Wine in which the U.S. committed to seek to change the legal status of the above names (with the exception of Angelica which is a U.S. wine and therefore not included in the Agreement) to restrict their use solely to wine originating in the applicable EU member state, except as provided for under a "grandfather" provision. The "grandfather" provision excepts certain non-EU wines labeled with one of the above names (other than Angelica) provided the applicable label was approved on a certificate of label approval (COLA) or certificate of exemption issued before March 10, 2006. The legislative proposal that effected the change in legal status of the names was included in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 that was enacted on December 20, 2006. (If you would like to read more about this, please see the U.S./EC Wine Agreement page.)

A vintage date
The phrase “estate bottled”

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Type of Appellation of Origin Required

Generally, with two exceptions, any one of the types of appellations (i.e., a country, state, etc.) may be used when an appellation is required. The two exceptions are:

Wine labeled with a vintage date:
The appellation of origin must be a state (or foreign equivalent), multi-state (U.S. wine only), county (or foreign equivalent), multi-county (U.S. wine only) or viticultural area
Wine labeled as “estate bottled”:
The appellation of origin must be a viticultural area

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Type Size Requirements

When an appellation of origin is required, the type size requirements are:

For containers of 187 ml or less:
The appellation of origin must be at least 1 mm in size and substantially as conspicuous as the product designation
For containers of over 187 ml:
The appellation of origin must be at least 2 mm in size and substantially as conspicuous as the product designation

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Placement Requirements

When an appellation of origin is required, it must appear on the same label and in the same view as the product designation

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