726 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[Docket No. TTB–2023–0010; Notice No. 

228] 

RIN 1513–AD01 

Proposed Establishment of the 

Conneaut Creek Viticultural Area 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax 

and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to 

establish the 70,437-acre ‘‘Conneaut 

Creek’’ American viticultural area 

(AVA) in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The 

proposed AVA is located entirely within 

the boundaries of the existing Lake Erie 

AVA. TTB designates viticultural areas 

to allow vintners to better describe the 

origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. TTB invites comments 

on these proposals. 

DATES: TTB must receive your 

comments on or before March 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may electronically 

submit comments to TTB on this 

proposal, and view copies of this 

document, its supporting materials, and 

any comments TTB receives on it within 

Docket No. TTB–2023–0010 as posted 

on Regulations.gov (https://

www.regulations.gov), the Federal erulemaking portal. Please see the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ section of this 

document below for full details on how 

to comment on this proposal via 

Regulations.gov or U.S. mail, and for 

full details on how to obtain copies of 

this document, its supporting materials, 

and any comments related to this 

proposal. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW, Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

phone 202–453–1039, ext. 175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (FAA Act), 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. The Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) administers the FAA Act 

provisions pursuant to section 1111(d) 

of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

as codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). In 

addition, the Secretary of the Treasury 

has delegated certain administrative and 

enforcement authorities to TTB through 

Treasury Order 120–01. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) authorizes TTB to establish 

definitive viticultural areas and regulate 

the use of their names as appellations of 

origin on wine labels and in wine 

advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR part 9) sets forth 

standards for the preparation and 

submission of petitions for the 

establishment or modification of 

American viticultural areas (AVAs) and 

lists the approved AVAs. 

Definition 

Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) defines 

a viticultural area for American wine as 

a delimited grape-growing region having 

distinguishing features as described in 

part 9 of the regulations and, once 

approved, a name and a delineated 

boundary codified in part 9 of the 

regulations. These designations allow 

vintners and consumers to attribute a 

given quality, reputation, or other 

characteristic of a wine made from 

grapes grown in an area to the wine’s 

geographic origin. The establishment of 

AVAs allows vintners to describe more 

accurately the origin of their wines to 

consumers and helps consumers to 

identify wines they may purchase. 

Establishment of an AVA is neither an 

approval nor an endorsement by TTB of 

the wine produced in that area. 

Requirements 

Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(2)) outlines 

the procedure for proposing an AVA 

and allows any interested party to 

petition TTB to establish a grapegrowing region as an AVA. Section 9.12 

of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 9.12) 

prescribes standards for petitions to 

establish or modify AVAs. Petitions to 

establish an AVA must include the 

following: 

• Evidence that the area within the 

proposed AVA boundary is nationally 

or locally known by the AVA name 

specified in the petition; 

• An explanation of the basis for 

defining the boundary of the proposed 

AVA; 

• A narrative description of the 

features of the proposed AVA that affect 

viticulture, such as climate, geology, 

soils, physical features, and elevation, 

that make the proposed AVA distinctive 

and distinguish it from adjacent areas 

outside the proposed AVA boundary; 

• The appropriate United States 

Geological Survey (USGS) map(s) 

showing the location of the proposed 

AVA, with the boundary of the 

proposed AVA clearly drawn thereon; 

and 

• A detailed narrative description of 

the proposed AVA boundary based on 

USGS map markings. 

• If the proposed AVA is to be 

established within, or overlapping, an 

existing AVA, an explanation that both 

identifies the attributes of the proposed 

AVA that are consistent with the 

existing AVA and explains how the 

proposed AVA is sufficiently distinct 

from the existing AVA, and therefore 

appropriate for separate recognition. 

Petition To Establish the Conneaut 

Creek AVA 

TTB received a petition from Andrew 

Kirk, a research specialist at Ohio State 

University—Ashtabula Agricultural 

Research Station, proposing to establish 

the ‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ AVA on behalf of 

the Committee for Establishment of the 

‘‘Conneaut Creek AVA,’’ comprised of 

local industry and institutional 

stakeholders. The proposed AVA is 

located in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and 

is entirely within the established Lake 

Erie AVA (27 CFR 9.83). The proposed 

AVA consists of the land within 2 miles 

of Conneaut Creek within the State of 

Ohio, for a total of approximately 37,116 

acres. There are six commercial 

vineyards covering a total of 

approximately 45 acres within the 

proposed AVA, as well as three 

wineries. The distinguishing feature of 

the proposed Conneaut Creek AVA is its 

climate. 

Proposed Conneaut Creek AVA 

Name Evidence 

The proposed AVA takes its name 

from Conneaut Creek, which runs 

through the region and empties into 

Lake Erie near the Ohio-Pennsylvania 

border. According to the petition, one of 

the earliest examples of the use of the 

name ‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ comes from the 

diary of Moses Cleveland, a surveyor 

who landed at the mouth of the creek 

on the Lake Erie shoreline in 1796 and 

referred to the creek as ‘‘Conneaught 

Creek,’’ an anglicized spelling of the 

Seneca name for the creek. The creek 

also gives its name to the city of 

Conneaut, Ohio, which is within the 


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1See Albert J. Winkler et al., General Viticulture 

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2nd ed.), 

pages 61–64 (1974). In the Winkler climate 

classification system, annual heat accumulation 

during the growing season, measured in annual 

GDDs, defines climatic regions. One GDD 

accumulates for each degree Fahrenheit that a day’s 

mean temperature is above 50 degrees F, the 

minimum temperature required for grapevine 

growth. 

proposed AVA. The petition includes 

several examples of businesses and 

organizations within the proposed AVA 

that use the name ‘‘Conneaut’’ or 

‘‘Conneaut Creek,’’ including Conneaut 

Creek Veterinary Wellness and Urgent 

Care, Conneaut Creek Float and Fly 

Shop, the Conneaut Creek Club, 

Conneaut Creek Ship Repair, Friends of 

Conneaut Creek, and Conneaut Creek 

Fishing Lodge. 

Boundary Evidence 

The proposed Conneaut Creek AVA 

encompasses the portion of Conneaut 

Creek that is in Ohio. Although the 

creek originates in Pennsylvania, the 

petition states that the OhioPennsylvania border is used as the 

eastern boundary of the proposed AVA 

because at the time the petition was 

submitted, commercial viticulture did 

not exist along Conneaut Creek in 

Pennsylvania. The boundary of the 

proposed AVA begins at the point 

where Conneaut Creek intersects the 

Ohio-Pennsylvania State line. The 

proposed AVA then encompasses all 

land within 2 miles of the creek within 

the State of Ohio, to the point where the 

creek empties into Lake Erie. The 

petition states that a 2-mile radius 

around the creek encapsulates the 

climate, topography, and soil type of the 

proposed AVA, the primary 

characteristic being a climate that is 

strongly influenced by winds blowing 

inland from Lake Erie. According to the 

petition, the climatic influence of these 

winds lessens the farther one travels 

from both the Lake Erie shoreline and 

the banks of Conneaut Creek. 

Distinguishing Feature 

According to the petition, the 

distinguishing feature of the proposed 

Conneaut Creek AVA is its climate, 

which is influenced by air moving 

inland from Lake Erie via Conneaut 

Creek. The headwaters of the creek are 

in Pennsylvania, and it primarily flows 

south to north within that State. 

However, within the proposed AVA, 

Conneaut Creek flows from east to west 

for some time, parallel to Lake Erie, 

before resuming a northward trajectory 

into the lake. The proposed AVA is also 

located along a considerable 

northeasterly curve of the shoreline. The 

petition states that due to the shape of 

the shoreline, air flowing into the 

proposed AVA has travelled across the 

waters of Lake Erie for a longer distance 

than at locations along the shoreline 

that are farther to the west. Therefore, 

the air has more time to be affected by 

the temperature of the water it is 

passing over. The result is that 

temperatures in the proposed AVA are 

typically cooler for longer in the spring 

growing season, when the water 

temperature is generally cooler than the 

air temperature; less extreme in the 

summer; and warmer in the winter, 

when the water temperature is generally 

warmer than the air temperature. By 

comparison, temperatures in locations 

farther from the lake are typically 

warmer in the summer and cooler in the 

winter than the proposed AVA. 

To demonstrate how airflow over 

Lake Erie affects temperatures, the 

petition included the average growing 

degree day 1 (GDD) accumulations from 

2015 to 2020 from within the proposed 

Conneaut Creek AVA and from the city 

of Fremont, Ohio, which is located 

within the western portion of the Lake 

Erie AVA and is not as close to the lake 

as the proposed AVA. The average GDD 

accumulation for the proposed AVA 

was 2,996.6, while the average GDD 

accumulation from Fremont was 3,379. 

The petition states that the difference of 

382.4 GDDs is equivalent to 3.5 to 4 

extra weeks of heat accumulation, 

indicating a warmer climate in Fremont. 

According to the petition, the cooler 

temperatures of the proposed Conneaut 

Creek AVA affect grape maturation and 

levels of malic acid, sugar (measured in 

degrees Brix), and phenols (which affect 

flavor, smell, and color). The petition 

provided information about must from 

pinot noir grapes harvested on the same 

date in 2019 from a vineyard in the 

proposed AVA and from two vineyards 

in the nearby Grand River Valley AVA 

(27 CFR 9.87), which is located within 

the Lake Erie AVA to the southwest of 

the proposed AVA. The information is 

set out in the following table. The 

petition notes that within the proposed 

AVA, the farthest a vineyard can be 

from Lake Erie is 6.5 miles, with most 

existing vineyards being within three 

miles of Lake Erie. In the Grand River 

Valley AVA, the closest a vineyard 

could be to the lake is 7.5 miles. 

TABLE 1—COMPARISON OF PROPOSED AVA AND GRAND RIVER VALLEY AVA PINOT NOIR MUST

Location Brix 

Total 

phenolics 

(mg/L) 

Titratable 

acidity 

(g/L) 

Proposed AVA ............................................................................................................................. 17 317 10.4 

Grand River Valley AVA Site #1 ................................................................................................. 20.8 608 7.4 

Grand River Valley AVA Site #2 ................................................................................................. 20 584 8.1 

According to the petition, the cooler 

growing season temperatures of the 

proposed Conneaut Creek AVA are 

reflected in the higher levels of acid in 

the grape must. Malic acid degradation 

is primarily a function of temperature, 

both ambient and in the leaf canopy, 

with warmer temperatures reducing 

acid levels. Cooler growing season 

temperatures also slow the development 

of sugar and phenolic components in 

the grapes, resulting in grape must with 

lower degrees of Brix and fewer total 

phenolics. 

The petition also included similar 

information for juice from pinot noir 

grapes harvested on the same day in 

2018 from a vineyard within the 

proposed AVA and from a vineyard in 

the city of Vermilion, Ohio, which is 

located west of the proposed AVA along 

the central portion of the Lake Erie 

shoreline and is also within the Lake 

Erie AVA. The information is set out in 

the following table. 


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TABLE 2—COMPARISON OF PROPOSED AVA AND LAKE ERIE AVA PINOT NOIR JUICE

Location GDD on date 

of harvest Brix Total phenolics 

Proposed AVA ............................................................................................................................. 2,407 16 406 

Vermilion, OH .............................................................................................................................. 2,703 19.8 669 

The data indicates that Brix levels and 

the number of total phenolics in the 

juice from grapes grown in the proposed 

AVA are lower than those in the juice 

from the Vermilion vineyard grapes. 

The lower sugar and phenolics levels, 

along with the lower GDD 

accumulations, demonstrate that the 

proposed AVA has cooler temperatures, 

even though the proposed AVA and the 

city of Vermilion are both close to the 

Lake Erie shore. The data also supports 

the petition’s claim that the proposed 

Conneaut Creek AVA’s location on the 

northeasterly curve of Lake Erie 

shoreline allows the air passing over the 

lake during the growing season to cool 

for a greater length of time than air that 

reaches the shoreline farther to the west. 

The petition states that lower sugar 

and phenolic levels and higher acid 

levels can also be found when 

comparing cabernet franc grapes grown 

in the proposed Conneaut Creek AVA to 

the same varietal grown in the Grand 

River Valley AVA and the western end 

of the Lake Erie AVA. The petition notes 

that cabernet franc grapes typically 

ripen later than pinot noir, regardless of 

where they are grown. The following 

table sets out the information. 

TABLE 3—COMPARISON OF CABERNET FRANC FRUIT MATURITY

Year Harvest date Grape components 

Proposed 

Conneaut 

Creek AVA 

Grand River 

Valley AVA 

Western 

portion of 

Lake Erie AVA 

2018 .................. October 10 ...................................... Brix ..................................................

Total phenolics (mg/L) ....................

Titratable acidity (mg/L) ..................

19.6 

399 

6 

20.2 

544 

4.6 

21 

488 

N/A 

2019 .................. October 10 ...................................... Brix ..................................................

Total phenolics (mg/L) ....................

Titratable acidity (mg/L) ..................

20.4 

469 

9.6 

22.2 

531 

6 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

2020 .................. October 9 ........................................ Brix ..................................................

Total phenolics (mg/L) ....................

Titratable acidity (mg/L) ..................

21.8 

320 

10.1 

22 

380 

7.9 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

The petition did not include data 

related to growing season temperatures 

within the region to the east of the 

proposed AVA, in Pennsylvania, 

because the region lacked viticulture at 

the time the petition was submitted. 

Comparison of the Proposed Conneaut 

Creek AVA to the Existing Lake Erie 

AVA 

The Lake Erie AVA was established 

by T.D. ATF–156, which was published 

in the Federal Register on October 21, 

1983 (48 FR 48819). T.D. ATF–156 

states that the AVA is distinguished by 

its proximity to Lake Erie, which ‘‘exerts 

a moderating influence’’ on 

temperatures. Locations adjacent to the 

lake are more protected from extreme 

minimum and maximum temperatures 

than regions farther from the lake. T.D. 

ATF–156 also states that ‘‘[s]oils, 

elevations, and other physiographic 

features are diverse and * * * do not 

directly form the basis’’ for 

distinguishing the AVA. 

The proposed Conneaut Creek AVA 

also has the lake-influenced climate that 

is the primary feature of the Lake Erie 

AVA. However, due to its location on 

the northeastern edge of the Lake Erie 

AVA and its maximum distance of 6.5 

miles from the lake, the proposed AVA 

has a cooler growing season than 

locations within the Lake Erie AVA that 

are farther west or farther inland. 

TTB Determination 

TTB concludes that the petition to 

establish the approximately 37,116-acre 

‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ AVA merits 

consideration and public comment, as 

invited in this document. 

Boundary Description 

See the narrative boundary 

descriptions of the petitioned-for AVA 

in the proposed regulatory text 

published at the end of this document. 

Maps 

The petitioner provided the required 

maps, and they are listed below in the 

proposed regulatory text. You may also 

view the proposed Conneaut Creek AVA 

boundary on the AVA Map Explorer on 

the TTB website, at https://www.ttb.gov/ 

wine/ava-map-explorer. 

Impact on Current Wine Labels 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations prohibits 

any label reference on a wine that 

indicates or implies an origin other than 

the wine’s true place of origin. For a 

wine to be labeled with an AVA name 

or with a brand name that includes an 

AVA name, at least 85 percent of the 

wine must be derived from grapes 

grown within the area represented by 

that name, and the wine must meet the 

other conditions listed in 27 CFR 

4.25(e)(3). If the wine is not eligible for 

labeling with an AVA name and that 

name appears in the brand name, then 

the label is not in compliance and the 

bottler must change the brand name and 

obtain approval of a new label. 

Similarly, if the AVA name appears in 

another reference on the label in a 

misleading manner, the bottler would 

have to obtain approval of a new label. 

Different rules apply if a wine has a 

brand name containing an AVA name 

that was used as a brand name on a 

label approved before July 7, 1986. See 

27 CFR 4.39(i)(2) for details. 

If TTB establishes this proposed AVA, 

its name, ‘‘Conneaut Creek,’’ will be 

recognized as a name of viticultural 

significance under § 4.39(i)(3) of the 

TTB regulations (27 CFR 4.39(i)(3)). The 

text of the proposed regulation clarifies 

this point. Consequently, wine bottlers 

using ‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ in a brand 

name, including a trademark, or in 

another label reference as to the origin 

of the wine, would have to ensure that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 729 

the product is eligible to use the 

viticultural area’s name ‘‘Conneaut 

Creek.’’ The approval of the proposed 

Conneaut Creek AVA would not affect 

any existing AVA, and any bottlers 

using ‘‘Lake Erie’’ as an appellation of 

origin or in a brand name for wines 

made from grapes grown within the 

Conneaut Creek AVA would not be 

affected by the establishment of this 

new AVA. If approved, the 

establishment of the proposed Conneaut 

Creek AVA would allow vintners to use 

‘‘Conneaut Creek,’’ ‘‘Lake Erie,’’ or both 

AVA names as appellations of origin for 

wines made from grapes grown within 

the proposed AVA, if the wines meet 

the eligibility requirements for the 

appellation. 

Public Participation 

Comments Invited 

TTB invites comments from interested 

members of the public on whether TTB 

should establish the proposed Conneaut 

Creek AVA. TTB is interested in 

receiving comments on the sufficiency 

and accuracy of the name, boundary, 

and other required information 

submitted in support of the AVA 

petition. TTB invites comments on 

whether the boundary description, 

which only includes land within the 

proposed boundary that is also within 2 

statute miles of Conneaut Creek within 

the AVA, is sufficient to identify the 

proposed AVA and different enough 

from areas outside that boundary. In 

addition, because the proposed 

Conneaut Creek AVA would be within 

the existing Lake Erie AVA, TTB is 

interested in comments on whether the 

evidence submitted in the petition 

regarding the distinguishing features of 

the proposed AVA sufficiently 

differentiates it from the existing AVA. 

TTB is also interested in comments on 

whether the geographic features of the 

proposed AVA are so distinguishable 

from the Lake Erie AVA that the 

proposed Conneaut Creek AVA should 

not be part of the established AVA. 

Please provide any available specific 

information in support of your 

comments. 

Because of the potential impact of the 

establishment of the proposed Conneaut 

Creek AVA on wine labels that include 

the term ‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ as discussed 

above under Impact on Current Wine 

Labels, TTB is particularly interested in 

comments regarding whether there will 

be a conflict between the proposed area 

names and currently used brand names. 

If a commenter believes that a conflict 

will arise, the comment should describe 

the nature of that conflict, including any 

anticipated negative economic impact 

that approval of the proposed AVA will 

have on an existing viticultural 

enterprise. TTB is also interested in 

receiving suggestions for ways to avoid 

conflicts, for example, by adopting a 

modified or different name for the 

proposed AVA. 

Submitting Comments 

You may submit comments on this 

proposal by using one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: You 

may send comments via the online 

comment form posted with this 

document within Docket No. TTB– 

2023–0010 on ‘‘Regulations.gov,’’ the 

Federal e-rulemaking portal, at https:// 

www.regulations.gov. A direct link to 

that docket is available under Notice 

No. 228 on the TTB website at https:// 

www.ttb.gov/wine/notices-of-proposedrulemaking. Supplemental files may be 

attached to comments submitted via 

Regulations.gov. For complete 

instructions on how to use 

Regulations.gov, visit the site and click 

on the ‘‘FAQ’’ link at the bottom of the 

page. 

• U.S. Mail: You may send comments 

via postal mail to the Director, 

Regulations and Rulings Division, 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 12, 

Washington, DC 20005. 

Please submit your comments by the 

closing date shown above in this 

document. Your comments must 

reference Notice No. 228 and include 

your name and mailing address. Your 

comments also must be made in 

English, be legible, and be written in 

language acceptable for public 

disclosure. We do not acknowledge 

receipt of comments, and we consider 

all comments as originals. 

Your comment must clearly state if 

you are commenting on your own behalf 

or on behalf of an organization, 

business, or other entity. If you are 

commenting on behalf of an 

organization, business, or other entity, 

your comment must include the entity’s 

name as well as your name and position 

title. If you comment via 

Regulations.gov, please enter the 

entity’s name in the ‘‘Organization’’ 

blank of the online comment form. If 

you comment via postal mail, please 

submit your entity’s comment on 

letterhead. 

You may also write to the 

Administrator before the comment 

closing date to ask for a public hearing. 

The Administrator reserves the right to 

determine whether to hold a public 

hearing. 

Confidentiality 

All submitted comments and 

attachments are part of the public record 

and subject to disclosure. Do not 

enclose any material in your comments 

that you consider to be confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. 

Public Disclosure 

TTB will post, and you may view, 

copies of this document, selected 

supporting materials, and any online or 

mailed comments received about this 

proposal within Docket No. TTB–2023– 

0010 on the Federal e-rulemaking 

portal, Regulations.gov, at https://

www.regulations.gov. A direct link to 

that docket is available on the TTB 

website at https://www.ttb.gov/wine/ 

notices-of-proposed-rulemaking under 

Notice No. 228. You may also reach the 

relevant docket through the 

Regulations.gov search page at https://

www.regulations.gov. For instructions 

on how to use Regulations.gov, visit the 

site and click on the ‘‘FAQ’’ link at the 

bottom of the page. 

All posted comments will display the 

commenter’s name, organization (if 

any), city, and State, and, in the case of 

mailed comments, all address 

information, including email addresses. 

TTB may omit voluminous attachments 

or material that it considers unsuitable 

for posting. 

You may also obtain copies of this 

proposed rule, all related petitions, 

maps, other supporting materials, and 

any electronic or mailed comments that 

TTB receives about this proposal at 20 

cents per 8.5- x 11-inch page. Please 

note that TTB is unable to provide 

copies of USGS maps or any similarlysized documents that may be included 

as part of the AVA petition. Contact 

TTB’s Regulations and Rulings Division 

by email using the web form at https:// 

www.ttb.gov/contact-rrd, or by 

telephone at 202–453–1039, ext. 175, to 

request copies of comments or other 

materials. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

TTB certifies that this proposed 

regulation, if adopted, would not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The proposed regulation imposes no 

new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

administrative requirement. Any benefit 

derived from the use of a viticultural 

area name would be the result of a 

proprietor’s efforts and consumer 

acceptance of wines from that area. 

Therefore, no regulatory flexibility 

analysis is required. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
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Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule is not a significant 

regulatory action as defined by 

Executive Order 12866, as amended. 

Therefore, it requires no regulatory 

assessment. 

List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9 

Wine. 

Proposed Regulatory Amendment 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, we propose to amend title 27, 

chapter I, part 9, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows: 

PART 9—AMERICAN VITICULTURAL 

AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 9 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 27 U.S.C. 205. 

Subpart C—Approved American 

Viticultural Areas 

■ 2. Add § 9.ll to read as follows: 

§ 9.ll Conneaut Creek. 

(a) Name. The name of the viticultural 

area described in this section is 

‘‘Conneaut Creek’’. For purposes of part 

4 of this chapter, ‘‘Conneaut Creek’’ is 

a term of viticultural significance. 

(b) Approved maps. The 4 United 

States Geological Survey (USGS) 

1:24,000 scale topographic map used to 

determine the boundary of the 

viticultural area are as follows: 

(1) Conneaut, OH-PA, 2019; 

(2) North Kingsville, OH, 2019; 

(3) Gageville, OH, 2019; and 

(4) Pierpoint, OH, 2019. 

(c) Boundary. The Conneaut Creek 

viticultural area is located in Ashtabula 

County, Ohio. The boundary of the 

Conneaut Creek viticultural area is as 

described as follows: 

(1) The beginning point is on the 

Conneaut map at the intersection of the 

Ohio-Pennsylvania State line and 

Conneaut Creek. 

(2) From the beginning point, proceed 

westerly, then easterly, then northerly 

along Conneaut Creek, crossing onto the 

North Kingsville map and back onto the 

Conneaut map, to the point where 

Conneaut Creek flows into Lake Erie. 

(3) The Conneaut Creek viticultural 

area consists of all land within 2 statute 

miles of Conneaut Creek on the 

Conneaut, North Kingsville, Gageville, 

and Pierpoint maps. 

Signed: December 19, 2023. 

Mary G. Ryan, 

Administrator. 

Approved: December 20, 2023. 

Thomas C. West, Jr., 

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy). 

[FR Doc. 2024–00059 Filed 1–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–31–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[Docket No. TTB–2023–0009; Notice No. 

227] 

RIN 1513–AC80 

Proposed Renaming of the Mendocino 

Ridge Viticultural Area 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax 

and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to 

rename the established ‘‘Mendocino 

Ridge’’ American viticultural area 

(AVA) in Mendocino County, California, 

as ‘‘Mendocino Coast Ridge.’’ The 

proposed name change would not affect 

the size or boundary description of the 

AVA. TTB designates viticultural areas 

to allow vintners to better describe the 

origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. TTB invites comments 

on this proposal. 

DATES: TTB must receive your 

comments on or before March 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may electronically 

submit comments to TTB on this 

proposal using the comment form for 

this document as posted within Docket 

No. TTB–2023–0009 on the 

‘‘Regulations.gov’’ website at https://

www.regulations.gov. Within that 

docket, you also may view copies of this 

document, its supporting materials, and 

any comments TTB receives on this 

proposal. A direct link to that docket is 

available on the TTB website at https:// 

www.ttb.gov/wine/notices-of-proposedrulemaking under Notice No. 227. 

Alternatively, you may submit 

comments via postal mail to the 

Director, Regulations and Ruling 

Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 

12, Washington, DC 20005. Please see 

the Public Participation section below 

for further information on the comments 

requested regarding this proposal and 

on the submission, confidentiality, and 

public disclosure of comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW, Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

phone 202–453–1039, ext. 175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (FAA Act), 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. The Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) administers the FAA Act 

pursuant to section 1111(d) of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). The 

Secretary has delegated the functions 

and duties in the administration and 

enforcement of these provisions to the 

TTB Administrator through Treasury 

Order 120–01. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) authorizes TTB to establish 

definitive viticultural areas and regulate 

the use of their names as appellations of 

origin on wine labels and in wine 

advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR part 9) sets forth 

standards for the preparation and 

submission of petitions for the 

establishment or modification of 

American viticultural areas (AVAs), 

including changes to AVA names, and 

lists the approved AVAs. 

Definition 

Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) defines 

a viticultural area for American wine as 

a delimited grape-growing region having 

distinguishing features, as described in 

part 9 of the regulations, and a name 

and a delineated boundary, as 

established in part 9 of the regulations. 

These designations allow vintners and 

consumers to attribute a given quality, 

reputation, or other characteristic of a 

wine made from grapes grown in an area 

to its geographic origin. The 

establishment of AVAs allows vintners 

to describe more accurately the origin of 

their wines to consumers and helps 

consumers to identify wines they may 

purchase. Establishment of an AVA is 

neither an approval nor an endorsement 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1