Chronic Negress

I’m at the Wine Writer Symposium at Meadowood Resort in Napa. It’s been reassuring so far, but there’s trouble on the horizon for wine drinkers everywhere.

I am one of a group of people, accessorized by umbrellas, standing on a slope above the vines. The staff of 29 Vineyard are explaining their winter routine, plowing under ground cover or not, pruning, weighing cuttings, keeping the vines comfortably low to protect them from frost. They take care, doing a lot of hand work. From the vintners, we go to a room lined with barrels. A table of lawyers and advocates sit at one end. Our eyes are bright, happy to be embedded with more people who love what we love.

Unlike those reporters embedded with troops at war, our personal safety and comfort are assured. But the thing we love is under siege. The gang at the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known as the TTB wants history to be meaningless; for AVAs (American Viticultural Areas, similiar appellations or origins in Europe) to be just push pins on a map; robbed of their singular aspects and unique terroir and identities.

Back in 1986, the TTB made a simple rule. You could use a geographical brand as long as the AVA info on the label was accurate. If it said Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, the grapes should be from there and the wine made there.

Now, they are proposing to change that rule, allowing vintners who have labeled their wines to keep a name that could mislead consumers. A prominent example of this is a wine made in Ukiah in Mendocino County called Calistoga Cellars. Calistoga, the town of hot springs and famous bottled water, has applied for an AVA designation. The town has a rich history of winemaking as part of the Napa Valley. A study done at the University of California at Davis said that, all other factors being equal, the Napa Valley designation was worth $20 more per bottle than other areas in California. In 2000, the California legislature passed a law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court saying basically wines have to be made and grown where they say on the label they are from.

Notice #77, which would grandfather in situations like the Calistoga Cellars, has an evil twin in Notice #78.The second notice would eliminate “nested” AVAs. This means a winemaker could craft a wine called Ambrosia in St. Helena (St. Helena is a separate AVA within Napa Valley). However, the label could state it was a Napa Valley wine without mentioning the St. Helena designation at all.

As the rest of the world is tightening standards for appellations and origins, the TTB appears to want to take a giant leap backwards to the days of jug Chablis and “hearty Burgundy.” When the Belgians destroyed a large shipment of Korbel California champagne on the grounds that it wasn’t from the Champagne region. The fact that the Korbel was bound for Africa and had only briefly docked in Belgium serve notice that this is serious business.

So if you’re a wine lover, go to the TTB site and speak up against being misled. You have until March 20 so hurry up.

Guys, this is only the first day. More wine news to come I am sure.

I want to thank Phillip, Jaan, Matthew, Hayley, Dan, Dara, Catherine and George for making my time in Bay Area rich with pleasure and some great Tempranillo. Hope to see everyone soon.

What I’ve drunk so far: Vineyard 29 Aida Zinfandel 2005 SRP $75. Plummy, smoky but a fairly mellow Zinfandel. If you like ‘em bold, this isn’t for you. 15.8 percent alcohol.

Also, Vineyard 29 Aida Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. SRP $175. More reserved tannin, drinkable but hardly a good value. 14.8 percent alcohol.