Petitions to Establish or Modify American Viticultural Areas

The Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act) at 27 U.S.C. 205(e) authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages. The FAA Act provides that these regulations should, among other things, prohibit consumer deception and the use of misleading statements on labels and ensure that labels provide the consumer with adequate information as to the identity and quality of the product. Under that authority, TTB regulates the use of appellations of origin on wine labels, including the use of American viticultural area (AVA) names. In response to petitions submitted by interested parties, TTB establishes new AVAs or modifies existing AVAs through the rulemaking process. The TTB regulations in 27 CFR part 9 specify the information to be included in such petitions. TTB uses the provided information to evaluate a petitioner’s proposal and, if accepted for rulemaking, draft a notice of proposed rulemaking requesting public comment regarding the creation of a new AVA or the amendment of the name, boundary, or other terms of an existing AVA.

The latest form for Petitions to Establish or Modify American Viticultural Areas expires 2023-09-30 and can be found here.