On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, TTB announced that it would reopen comment period for three relevant proposed rules for the wine industry. The proposed rules were originally published in the Federal Register in 2016. The following rules have their comment periods reopened: Notice No. 160, Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling and…
Tag: Federal Register
Submitting a Petition for a New Grape Variety to TTB
Last year, I represented a client before the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) with respect to petitioning for the addition of a new grape variety for use as a variety on American wine labels. The grape variety, Loureiro, has been used on imported wines from Portugal and Spain….
TTB Publishes Two AVA Final Rules: Willamette Valley and Loess Hills District
On March 3rd, TTB published two final rules in the Federal Register the first which modified portions of currently established AVAs and the second which establishes a new AVA. The first rule alters an existing viticultural area in Oregon and the second alters an forms a viticultural area in sections of…
TTB Administratively Approves New Grape Variety Coda di Volpe
Very much in line with one of On Reserve’s recent posts, The Importance of Grape Varieties on American Wine Labels, TTB announced last week that it administratively approved a new grape variety for use on American wine labels. The new grape variety, Coda di Volpe, can be used on American wine labels…
TTB Establishes New AVA Lamorinda Viticultural Area
On Wednesday, February 24th, TTB issued a final rule in the Federal Register establishing a new American Viticultural Area (AVA) called Lamorinda Viticultural Area. The new AVA contains 29,369 acres in Contra Costa County, California and is entirely within the established (and larger) San Francisco Bay and Central Coast AVAs. The original petition was submitted…
Proposed Willcox Viticultural Area and Establishment of The Los Olivos District Viticultural Area
On January 21, 2016, TTB published a notice in the Federal Register proposing the establishment of the Willcox Viticultural Area, which is located in portions of Graham and Cochise Counties in Arizona (but is not currently located within, nor does it contain, any other established American Viticultural Area). The proposed Viticultural Area…
TTB Reopens the Comment Period for Proposed Viticultural Area and a Realignment
On October 26th, TTB released a press release stating the agency planned to public a notice in the Federal Register the following day which would reopen the comment period for the proposed Lewis-Clark Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), which is comprised of 306,650-acres found in locations including Nez Perce, Lewis,…
TTB Revises Regulation Regarding Excise Taxes and Return of Wine to Bonded Premises
On Tuesday, September 15, 2015, TTB published a rule in the Federal Register detailing the agency’s revision of wine regulations that govern the return of wine to bonded premises. See Return of Wine to Bonded Premises. The final rule was issued without prior notice and comment. The new rule is summarized below: TTB’s…
Proposed New AVA Tip of the Mitt and Establishment of Squaw Valley-Miramonte
On August 6, 2015, TTB issued a proposed rule to establish a new American Viticultural Area. TTB is accepting comments through October 5, 2015 on a proposed American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) called “Tip of the Mitt,” as per a proposed rule in the Federal Register on June 30, 2015. The proposed AVA…
Proposed Establishment of the “Champlain Valley of New York” Viticultural Area
TTB is accepting comments through August 31, 2015 on a proposed American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) called “Champlain Valley of New York,” as per a proposed rule in the Federal Register on June 30, 2015. The proposed AVA is as follows: The petition proposing the new AVA was sent to TTB by Colin…