TTB Proposes 2 New AVAs, 1 Expansion

Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau proposed to expand the Red Hills Lake County viticultural area in Lake County, calif., by about 679 acres.  The petition states that the proposed expansion area consists of three separately-owned parcels of land. One of the parcels, owned by Jim and Diane Fore, is currently planted with vines. The second parcel, owned by Prince Vineyard, LLC, is planned for planting in the near future. The third parcel, owned by Roland and Nell Shaul, is adjacent to the Prince Vineyard property. The Shaul parcel does not have any vineyards planted or planned for the near future but does contain a number of sites that are suitable for                     viticultural activity, so the petitioner requests its inclusion in the proposed expansion area.

In another development, TTB proposed to establish the 7,296-acre “Winters Highlands” viticultural area in portions of Solano and Yolo Counties, Calif.  The proposed AVA is named for the city of Winters, which is adjacent to the eastern boundary of the region.

Finally, TTB also proposed to establish the 2,415-acre "Wanapum Village" AVA in Grant County, Wash.  It's within the existing Columbia Valley AVA.  In making the proposal, TTB was acting on a petition from Dr. Kevin Pogue, a geology professor at Whitman College, who submitted the petition on behalf of local vineyard owners.

Comments on all three proposals are due to TTB are due by Jabn. 29, 2023.