20-621: The Shawnee Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area located between the Mississippi River and the Ohio River in southern Illinois . The wine appellation includes over 2,140 square miles (5,500 km) of land in portions of Alexander , Gallatin , Hardin , Jackson , Johnson , Pope , Pulaski , Randolph , Saline , Union , and Williamson counties. The region stretches approximately 80 miles (130 km) east-west and 20 miles (30 km) north-south, and includes
40-886: 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
60-466: A number of new wineries develop. As early as 1999, the Illinois Grape and Wine Resources Council estimated the wine trail's products provided more than $ 1 million boost to the area economy. By 2001, the wine trail had grown to five wineries producing more than 150,000 bottles. In November 2010, Gary Orlandini Vineyards used "leaps and bounds" to describe the growth of the wine trail, explaining
80-629: 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
100-401: 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
120-486: 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
140-589: 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,
160-660: 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
180-750: 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,
200-610: 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
220-552: The Shawnee Hills AVA. Most of the wineries are aligned with the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail in the southwestern portion of the AVA (south of Route 13 and west of Interstate 57). The Southern Illinois Wine Trail (east of Interstate 57) includes the next largest grouping, as well as some wineries located just outside the AVA. The area around Kinkaid Lake in the northwestern corner of the AVA is also seeing
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#1732800992085240-468: The ages of 32 and 59, and another 15 percent were 60 or older. Also, 65 percent had household incomes above $ 75,000. 37°30′N 88°50′W / 37.500°N 88.833°W / 37.500; -88.833 American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area ( AVA ) is a designated wine grape -growing region in the United States , providing an official appellation for
260-627: 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 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
280-408: 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 a wine is labeled with an AVA, at least 85% of
300-480: The new motels and hotels in Carbondale, Illinois , on the north edge of the wine trail. Research from around 2010 showed that approximately 40 percent of the visitors to the wine trail were non-local (defined as coming from at least 50 miles away). Tourists attracted to the wine trail tended to be older and possessed a higher household income than local wine visitors. Sixty-five percent of the tourists were between
320-411: 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
340-400: 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 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
360-705: The vast majority of the Shawnee National Forest . The AVA was created as a result of the successful petition of Ted Wichmann, owner of Owl Creek Vineyard . The area is named after the Shawnee , a Native American nation that settled in Southern Illinois in the mid 18th century. The AVA is served by the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail . At least 20 wineries as well as additional vineyards produced wine and grow grapes within
380-699: 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
400-434: The wineries along the trail had averaged 28 percent annual growth since the mid-1990s when the trail first organized. The development of the wineries has also boosted the region's hospitality industry with around four dozen specialty lodging facilities – bed and breakfast inns, cabins and vacation rentals – all but the state-owned Giant City Lodge and one or two others opening in the last 15 years. These don't count
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