19-696: The Ohio River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area centered on the Ohio River and surrounding areas . It is the second largest wine appellation of origin in the United States (only the Upper Mississippi Valley is larger) with 16,640,000 acres (26,000 sq mi) (67,300 km) in portions of the states of Indiana , Kentucky , Ohio and West Virginia . The area is mostly planted with hybrid grapes like Baco noir , Marechal Foch , Seyval blanc and Vidal . Of
38-886: A broad range of statutory and compliance provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Alcohol Administration Act . This act requires importers and bottlers of beverage alcohol to obtain certificates of label approval or certificates of exemption from label approval (COLAs) for most alcohol beverages prior to their introduction into interstate commerce. ALFD acts on these COLAs to ensure that products are labeled in accordance with federal laws and regulations. ALFD also examines formulas for wine and distilled spirits, statements of process, and pre-import applications filed by importers and proprietors of domestic distilleries, wineries, and breweries for proper tax classification and to ensure that
57-643: A wine is labeled with an AVA, at least 85% of the grapes that make up the wine must have been grown in the AVA, and the wine must be fully finished within the state where the AVA is located. The boundaries of AVAs are defined by the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a component of the United States Department of the Treasury . The TTB defines AVAs at the request of wineries and other petitioners . Prior to
76-401: A wine to be labeled with a state or county appellation, at least 75% of the grapes used to make the wine must have been grown within the boundary of the appellation, and the wine must be fully finished within the state in which the appellation is located. Some states have more stringent rules, such as California , which requires 100% of the grapes used to make the wine be from California and that
95-484: Is a climatic transition area as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate thereby being inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. The hardiness zones are 6b and 7a. The Ohio River is young from a geologic standpoint. The river formed on a piecemeal basis beginning between 2.5 and 3 million years ago. The earliest Ice Ages occurred at this time and dammed portions of north flowing rivers. The Teays River
114-533: Is a designated wine grape -growing region in the United States , providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about the geographic pedigree of their wines, as wines from a particular area can possess distinctive characteristics. Consumers often seek out wines from specific AVAs, and certain wines of particular pedigrees can claim premium prices and loyal customers. If
133-486: Is not always the case. See map on the right showing the outline of the Paso Robles AVA , California's largest in total area, and the eleven distinct AVAs contained within it. In 2018, the second session of the 115th Congress recognized the contribution of American Viticultural Areas to the economy. The Blunt-Merkley Resolution passed unanimously. It noted that an AVA allows vintners to describe more accurately
152-682: The Vitis vinifera found in the area Cabernet Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay , Petit Manseng and Riesling are the most common. The AVA size was decreased by approximately 1,530 square miles when the Indiana Uplands AVA was established in 2013 composed of the bordering area in Indiana . The Ohio River Valley AVA is the birthplace of American viticulture. Wine has been produced in Ohio since 1823 when Nicholas Longworth planted
171-589: The Cole Ranch AVA in Mendocino County , California, at only 60 acres (24 ha). The Augusta AVA , which occupies the area around the town of Augusta, Missouri , was the first recognized AVA, gaining the status on June 20, 1980. There are currently 276 AVAs spread across 34 states, with over half (154) in California. An AVA may be located within one or more larger AVAs. For example,
190-660: The Santa Clara Valley AVA and Livermore Valley AVA are located within the boundaries of the San Francisco Bay AVA , which is itself located within the Central Coast AVA . In such cases, the wine may be labeled with any of the relevant AVAs, but winemakers generally label wines with the most specific AVA allowed for each wine. Smaller AVAs are often perceived to be associated with smaller production and higher quality wines, though this
209-570: The Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB , is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury , which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms within the United States. TTB was created on January 24, 2003, when the Homeland Security Act of 2002 split the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) into two new organizations with separate functions. Specifically,
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#1732801146314228-431: The 570,000 gallons of wine that were produced each year in Ohio, 200,000 came from Brown County . In the 1800s, wine was expensive, so non-trellised vines succumbed to fungal diseases. Horses could farm the narrow ridges, but tractors could not. Tobacco farming became profitable. And as in many other states, Prohibition in the United States destroyed the Ohio wine industry, which has struggled to recover. The Ohio River
247-610: The Act transferred ATF and its law enforcement functions from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Justice . ATF's other functions, dealing with tax collection and regulation of legitimate trade, remained within the Treasury Department and became part of the new TTB. TTB's Field Operations are organized into five divisions: The Advertising, Labeling, and Formulation Division (ALFD) implements and enforces
266-709: The TTB regulations (27 C.F.R. § 9.12) prescribes the standards for petitions for the establishment or modification of AVAs. Petitions to establish an AVA must include the following: Once a petition is accepted as complete, the TTB may choose to seek public input on the proposal and at its sole discretion may approve the proposed AVA. Before the AVA system, wine appellations of origin in the United States were designated based on state or county boundaries. All of these appellations were grandfathered into federal regulations and may appear on wine labels as designated places of origin in lieu of an AVA, such as Sonoma County . In order for
285-468: The TTB's creation in 2003, the Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) received and handled petitions for viticultural areas, wine production and labeling. Section 4.25(e)(2) of the regulations (27 C.F.R. § 4.25(e)(2)) outlines the procedure for proposing an AVA and provides that any interested party may petition the TTB to establish a grape-growing region as an AVA. Section 9.12 of
304-485: The first Alexander and Isabella grapes in the Ohio River Valley . In 1825, Longworth planted the first Catawba grapes in Ohio. Others soon planted Catawba in new vineyards throughout the state and by 1860, Catawba was the most important grape variety in Ohio. At this time, Ohio produced more wine than any other state in the country, and Cincinnati was the most important city in the national wine trade. Of
323-411: The origin of their wine, while helping vintners to build and enhance the reputation and value of the wines produced. AVAs also allow consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic to a wine made from grapes grown in an AVA. AVAs also help consumers identify what they purchase. Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , statutorily named
342-699: The wine be fully finished within the state. Washington requires 95% of the grapes in a Washington wine be grown in Washington, although notably the Columbia Valley AVA , Columbia Gorge AVA , and Walla Walla Valley AVA are shared with Oregon. AVAs vary widely in size, ranging from the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA , at more than 19 million acres (29,900 square miles (77,000 km )) across four states ( Illinois , Iowa , Minnesota , and Wisconsin ), to
361-553: Was the largest of these rivers, and the modern Ohio River flows within segments of the ancient Teays. The ancient rivers were rearranged or consumed by glaciers and lakes. The vineyard soils of the Ohio River Valley are diverse, being on the boundary between glaciated and non-glaciated. 39°06′10″N 84°49′09″W / 39.10287°N 84.81918°W / 39.10287; -84.81918 American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area ( AVA )
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