OTB # 12 – Not So Fine Print – Part 2 of probably about 3

So I’ve introduced the appellation of origin labeling topic. Why does this matter? First I’ll share why I think it matters to the regulators, then I’ll tell you why it matters from my perspective as a relatively new wine lover.

The regulators care about where the grapes are sourced, and where it is bottled, and what the labels say so that the correct taxes can be assessed to its production, import/export, and sales. It’s also handy for enforcing the antiquated 3-teir system of distribution in the U.S. that inhibits wineries and consumers from meeting in the marketplace without having someone in the middle taking a share of the pie. Also, along with most of the other laws from the TTB, this protects the consumer.  If a wine is maliciously mislabeled, consumers can be assured they aren’t buying one thing, but maybe getting something else. The cynic in me says this last reason is probably secondary to the TTB; they’re mainly interested in the flow of cash and booze within the rules of their game.

Why I think it matters, and should to anyone who’s become obsessed with wine as a hobby (like me), is that the source of the grapes is tied inseparably to the concept of terroir and without a specific location defined, the wine flavors have no meaning for those of us looking for terroir in a glass. Terroir is the French word for soil and in wine parlance it means a sense of place that is imparted to a wine by its vineyard location including things such as soil type, weather patterns specific to a site (micro-climate), sun angle due to slope and row orientation of the vine rows, and sometimes even a specific row or vine within a vineyard. I’ve had winemakers tell me the rows of a vineyard are influenced by localized soil type and rocks and protection from wind by outer rows. This all makes sense to me even though I’ve never farmed more than 10’ by 10’ garden plot.

So I want to know where, as specifically as possible, my wine and its grapes originate. Washington wineries, because of the “may” clause and the complicated embedding of AVA’s, lots of times, in fact all the time, have a choice as to how they list Appellation of Origin. They can avoid the AVA system all together and label “Washington State” or even “American” if they so choose. Some use Washington State, though I’ve never seen American used here. The next big catch-all for Eastern Washington (95%+ of all Washington wines are made from wines grown here) is Columbia Valley. Lots of wines are labeled Columbia Valley. Even though there are vast areas of the Columbia Valley, and some of the state’s best vineyards, currently not in any more specific AVA, unless the vineyard is also listed, it’s really not much better than Washington State for telling you the source, and terroir, of the wine. The smaller AVA’s with the Columbia Valley gets you closer, and in my opinion, the best identified are the vineyard designate wines that sometimes tell you the exact location of the grapes origin, at least within a few hundred acres or so. I don’t think the federal government regulates vineyard designate labels. They don’t collect any revenue from vineyards directly, so the AVA and state labels serve their purposes.

 

I recently picked up a shipment of wines I bought from Paul Z. at Full Pull. I purposefully bought wines Paul had advertised from Yakima Valley and its embedded AVA vineyard sources. Paul is one of the few, if not the only, retailers I’ve ever encountered who does a fabulous job getting to the bottom of this topic and identifying vineyard sources. To that group or eight or so wines, I’ve picked a few more from our cellar, or learned about elsewhere, that I know are similarly Yak and sub appellation vineyard wines. With this case of wine I made a matrix with the winery name and vintage and name of the wine, it place of production (wineries from all over the state use Yakima Valley grapes), the vineyard locations that I know about either from the label, winemaker notes, or winery information as provided by Paul (Mr. Z. is on his way to Portugal, so I hope I don’t get in trouble for using his info this way), and a list of what the winery has chosen as their label “Appellation of Origin”.

As a short analysis, I’ll say that I ranked these by what I feel are most specific labeling (to almost the point of overkill) to the least descriptive. I like more specific labels, so my favorite wines are at the top. I should note here that I haven’t even tasted most of these wines, but I’ve already picked my favorites from the words on the label.

In my next, and likely last, blog post devoted to this topic, I’ll try to dissect a little more about these labeling “strategies” and explain as a lay person, wine lover, and a relatively new resident to the State of Washington, why some of the strategies I see work for me and would make we want to buy this wine if I were wine shopping in say Atlanta, GA, Omaha, NE, or Yakima, WA for this wine.

And why some of them don’t.

_________________________________________

 

OTB Fun Fact:  There are, in fact, rattlesnakes in the Rattlesnake Hills.  That isn’t probably how the Hills got their name, it’s more likely due to their serpentine and bumpy and multi-colored ridge line as it snakes it’s way from Union Gap to the Horn Rapids (including Rattlesnake Mountain).  Despite it’s name though, there are no elephants living on Elephant Mountain, which is the highest point in the Rattlesnake Hills.