Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 53297 

A quorum * * * shall consist of three members; 

provided, however, that if the number of 

Commissioners in office is less than three, a 

quorum shall consist of the number of members in 

office; and provided further that on any matter of 

business as to which the number of members in 

office, minus the number of members who either 

have disqualified themselves from consideration of 

such matter pursuant to § 200.60 or are otherwise 

disqualified from such consideration, is two, two 

members shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 

such matter. 

17 CFR 200.41. See also Falcon Trading Group, 

supra (upholding rule, in a matter decided by two 

Commissioners when the SEC’s other three seats 

were vacant, as an exercise of the SEC’s general 

rulemaking authority). Cf. SEC v. Feminella, 947 F. 

Supp. 722, 725–27 (S.D.N.Y. 1996) (also upholding 

the rule, but treating it as a delegation). 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

does not require prior public notice and 

comment on this amendment because it 

relates solely to a rule of agency 

organization, procedure or practice. 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(A). For this reason, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act also does not 

require an initial or final regulatory 

flexibility analysis. See 5 U.S.C. 603, 

604. The revision does not involve the 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35. 

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 4 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Freedom of Information Act, 

Privacy Act, Sunshine Act. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Federal Trade 

Commission amends Title 16, Chapter 1, 

Subchapter A, of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows: 

PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 4 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 46, unless otherwise 

noted. 

■ 2. Revise § 4.14(b) to read as follows: 

§ 4.14. Conduct of business. 

* * * * * 

(b) A majority of the members of the 

Commission in office and not recused 

from participating in a matter (by virtue 

of 18 U.S.C. 208 or otherwise) 

constitutes a quorum for the transaction 

of business in that matter. 

* * * * * 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–17856 Filed 9–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[T.D. TTB–32; Re: Notice No. 30] 

RIN 1513–AA67 

Expansion of the Russian River Valley 

Viticultural Area (2003R–144T) 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision. 

SUMMARY: This Treasury decision 

expands by 30,200 acres the existing 

Russian River Valley viticultural area in 

Sonoma County, California, to a total of 

126,600 acres. We designate viticultural 

areas to allow vintners to better describe 

the origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. 

DATES: Effective October 11, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy Sutton, Regulations and 

Procedures Division, Alcohol and 

Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 925 

Lakeville St., No. 158, Petaluma, 

California 94952; telephone (415) 271–

1254. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (the FAA Act, 27 

U.S.C. 201 et seq.) requires that alcohol 

beverage labels provide the consumer 

with adequate information regarding a 

product’s identity and prohibits the use 

of misleading information on such 

labels. The FAA Act also authorizes the 

Secretary of the Treasury to issue 

regulations to carry out its provisions. 

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau (TTB) administers these 

regulations. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) allows the establishment of 

definitive viticultural areas and 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) contains the 

list of approved viticultural areas. 

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 

distinguishable by geographical 

features, the boundaries of which have 

been recognized and defined 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 

viticultural areas allows vintners to 

describe more accurately the origin of 

their wines to consumers and helps 

consumers to identify wines they may 

purchase. Establishment of a viticultural 

area 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 outlines the procedure for 

proposing an American viticultural area 

and provides that any interested party 

may petition TTB to establish a grapegrowing region as a viticultural area. 

Section 9.3(b) of the TTB regulations 

requires the petition to include—

• Evidence that the proposed 

viticultural area is locally and/or 

nationally known by the name specified 

in the petition; 

• Historical or current evidence that 

supports setting the boundary of the 

proposed viticultural area as the 

petition specifies; 

• Evidence relating to the 

geographical features, such as climate, 

soils, elevation, and physical features, 

that distinguish the proposed 

viticultural area from surrounding areas; 

• A description of the specific 

boundary of the proposed viticultural 

area, based on features found on United 

States Geological Survey (USGS) maps; 

and 

• A copy of the appropriate USGS 

map(s) with the proposed viticultural 

area’s boundary prominently marked. 

Russian River Valley Petition and 

Rulemaking 

General Background 

TTB received a petition from the 

Russian River Valley Winegrowers, a 

wine industry association based in 

Fulton, California, proposing a 30,200- 

acre expansion of the established 

96,000-acre Russian River Valley 

viticultural area (27 CFR 9.66). The 

viticultural area, located in central 

Sonoma County, California, is about 50 

miles north of San Francisco. 

Currently, the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area boundary surrounds 

areas north and west of Santa Rosa, 

north of Sebastopol, east of the 

Bohemian Highway (about 7 miles 

inland from the Pacific coast), and south 

of Healdsburg. 

This viticultural area also 

encompasses all of the Chalk Hill 

53298 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

viticultural area (27 CFR 9.52) in its 

northeastern corner and all but a small 

portion of the Sonoma County Green 

Valley viticultural area (27 CFR 9.57) to 

its southwest. 

The Russian River Valley viticultural 

area is one of several viticultural areas 

lying entirely within the Northern 

Sonoma viticultural area (27 CFR 9.70), 

which lies largely within the Sonoma 

Coast viticultural area (27 CFR 9.116). 

Moreover, the Northern Sonoma and 

Sonoma Coast viticultural areas are both 

entirely within the vast North Coast 

viticultural area (27 CFR 9.30). 

The 30,200-acre proposed expansion 

of the Russian River Valley viticultural 

area would add areas to the east and 

south of the area’s originally established 

boundary, bringing its total size to about 

126,600 acres. The proposed expansion 

would include areas with a mix of rural, 

suburban, and urban land uses between 

Santa Rosa and Mendocino Avenues in 

Santa Rosa. To the south, the proposed 

expanded boundary would incorporate 

the remainder of the Sonoma County 

Green Valley viticultural area, as well as 

a large rural region to the west, south, 

and east of Sebastopol. 

Below, we summarize the evidence 

presented in the petition. 

Name Evidence 

The proposed expansion area to the 

east and south of the Russian River 

Valley viticultural area is commonly 

referred to as the Russian River Valley. 

A State of California hydrology map 

shows that the Russian River Valley, 

including the proposed expansion area, 

is within the Russian River Valley 

watershed. 

An article from the July 2002 Wine 

Enthusiast magazine (page 31) described 

the Russian River Valley as ‘‘the boxshaped region that extends from 

Healdsburg to Santa Rosa in the east, 

and from Occidental to Guerneville in 

the west.’’ This description includes the 

areas to be included in the proposed 

eastern boundary expansion. The 1996 

‘‘Wine Country’’ guidebook (page 196) 

provides a ‘‘Russian River Region’’ map 

that includes the east and south sides of 

the proposed expanded boundary. 

The Homes and Land real estate 

magazine lists a ‘‘Russian River 

Appellation Vineyard Estate’’ on pages 

32 and 33 of Volume 18, No. 7, 

published in the summer of 2002. This 

estate is within the eastern portion of 

the proposed expansion area. 

The Wine News June/July 2002 

magazine includes an article titled 

‘‘Russian River Valley Pinot Noir’s 

Promised Land’’ that discusses this 

winegrowing area. On page 60, it notes 

that the 24-acre Meredith Vineyard is 

‘‘located at the southern end of the RRV 

[Russian River Valley].’’ This vineyard 

is in the proposed expansion area as 

well, as noted on the United States 

Geological Survey Sebastopol 

quadrangle map. 

Boundary Evidence 

Historically, agriculture in the 

proposed expansion area has included 

apples, prunes, cherries, berries, grapes, 

and other crops. Local resident Lee 

Bondi recalls that in the early 1900s his 

family made wine from Palomino grapes 

on their ranch in the proposed 

expansion area. Dena Bondelie, also a 

resident living in the proposed 

expansion area, remembers her father 

talking about the Zinfandel wine made 

by her grandfather at their Darby Lane 

property. 

Tom Henderson, an area resident, 

recalls that during World War II his 

grandparents grew berries, corn, 

pumpkins, and acorn squash to 

supplement their apple crop, on their 

Sander Road property. Merry Edwards, 

a current resident, states that when she 

first moved to the area in 1977, it was 

heavily planted with apples. Today, 

some of the apple and prune orchards 

are being replaced with vineyards 

because of changing agricultural 

markets. 

As of spring 2003, there were 

approximately 1,070 acres planted to 

grapes within the proposed expansion 

area of the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area, with another 200 acres 

under development for commercial 

viticulture purposes. 

Distinguishing Features 

Treasury Decision ATF–159 of 

October 21, 1983 (48 FR 48813), 

established the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area. This Treasury Decision 

stated: 

The Russian River viticultural area 

includes those areas through which flow the 

Russian River or some of its tributaries and 

where there is a significant climate effect 

from coastal fogs. The specific growing 

climate is the principal distinctive 

characteristic of the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area. The area designated is a 

cool growing coastal area because of fog 

intruding up the Russian River and its 

tributaries during the early morning hours. 

Climate 

Fog is the single most unifying and 

significant feature of the previously 

established Russian River Valley 

viticultural area. The 30,200-acre 

proposed expansion area also has heavy 

fog as documented by Robert Sisson, 

Sonoma County Viticulture Farm 

Advisor Emeritus, on his 1976 map 

titled ‘‘Lines of Heaviest and Average 

Maximum Fog Intrusion for Sonoma 

County.’’

The expansion petition and Treasury 

Decision ATF–159 both refer to the 

Winkler degree-day system, which 

classifies grape-growing climatic 

regions. (The degree-day system is 

described as the total summation of 

accumulated heat units (degrees of 

temperature) that are above 50 degrees 

F during each day of the typical growing 

season from April to October. See 

‘‘General Viticulture,’’ Albert J. Winkler, 

University of California Press, 1975.) As 

noted in Treasury Decision ATF–159, 

‘‘The Russian River Valley viticultural 

area is termed ‘‘coastal cool’’ with a 

range of 2,000 to 2,800 accumulated 

heat units.’’

The petition provides growing season 

temperature data from 2001 for four 

vineyards within the proposed 

expansion area. 

Vineyard 

Degree days 

(accumulated 

heat units) 

Le Carrefour ......................... 2,636 

Osley East ............................ 2,567 

Osley West ........................... 2,084 

Bloomfield ............................. 2,332 

The table above shows that the degree 

days for all four vineyards fall within 

the 2,000 to 2,800 accumulated heat 

units range of Winkler’s ‘‘coastal cool’’

climate. The evidence confirms that 

these vineyards in the proposed 

expansion area have the same grapegrowing climate as found within the 

originally established Russian River 

Valley viticultural area. 

Elevation 

The terrain of the proposed expansion 

area ranges in elevation from about 70 

feet east of Sebastopol, to around 800 

feet to the west, toward Occidental. 

These elevations are similar to those 

found within most of the originally 

established Russian River Valley 

viticultural area. 

Soils 

There is a similar range and diversity 

of soils in the proposed expansion area 

and in the originally established 

Russian River Valley viticultural area. 

Although Treasury Decision ATF–159 

does not identify unique soils within 

the originally established viticultural 

area, the similarity of soils is 

documented on the Sonoma County Soil 

Survey maps (Department of 

Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 

U.S. Forest Service, and University of 

California Agricultural Experiment 

Station, undated) on survey sheets 65, 

66, 73, 74, 80, 82, 88, 89, 96, and 97. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 53299 

The predominant soils within the 

proposed expansion area include 

Huichica Loam, Yolo Clay Loam, and 

Yolo Silt Loam. These soils are depicted 

on sheet 74 of the Sonoma County Soil 

Survey. The same soils are also present 

in the northern region vineyards of the 

current Russian River Valley viticultural 

area, as documented on pages 57 and 66 

of the soil survey. 

Watershed 

The Russian River watershed, unit 

#18010110, as depicted on the 1978 

State of California Hydrology map, 

covers the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area and the proposed 

expansion area. Specifically, the 

watershed extends from the southern 

part of Lake Mendocino to Sonoma 

Mountain, and from the west side of Mt. 

St. Helena to Jenner, where the Russian 

River meets the Pacific Ocean. Treasury 

Decision, ATF–159 states that the 

Russian River Valley viticultural area 

‘‘includes those areas through which 

flow the Russian River or some of its 

tributaries.’’

Boundary Description 

The proposed expanded boundary 

deviates from the established boundary 

at a point east of Highway 101, along 

Mark West Springs Road. From that 

point, the expanded boundary line, in a 

clockwise direction, travels south to 

Todd Road in Santa Rosa. It then 

meanders west, with a southward bulge 

south of Sebastopol that incorporates 

the crossroads hamlet of Knowles 

Corners. Passing north of the town of 

Bloomfield, the proposed expanded 

boundary continues northwest of 

Freestone, where it rejoins the originally 

established boundary. 

For a detailed description of the 

proposed change to the Russian River 

Valley’s boundary, see the changes to 

the narrative boundary description of 

the viticultural area in the amended 

regulatory text published at the end of 

this notice. 

Maps 

The petitioner provided the required 

maps, and we list them below in the 

amended regulatory text. 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

TTB published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking regarding the proposed 

expansion of the Russian River Valley 

viticultural area in the Federal Register 

as Notice No. 30 on January 31, 2005 (70 

FR 4797). In that notice, TTB requested 

comments by April 1, 2005, from all 

interested persons. 

TTB received three comments in 

response to Notice No. 30. One 

commenter requested an additional 90 

days to study the petition but then 

withdrew the request shortly after 

submitting it. Two other comments 

supported the viticultural area 

expansion. One of the supporting 

comments indicates that the expansion 

of the original Russian River Valley 

viticultural area corrects the ‘‘previously 

illogical boundaries’’ designated by the 

1983 establishment of the Russian River 

Valley viticultural area. The other 

supportive comment states that the 

proposed expansion more accurately 

takes into account the natural 

boundaries and the unique climate of 

the Russian River Valley viticultural 

area. 

TTB Finding 

After careful review of the petition 

and the comments received, TTB finds 

that the evidence submitted supports 

the proposed expansion of the Russian 

River Valley viticultural area. Therefore, 

under the authority of the Federal 

Alcohol Administration Act and part 4 

of our regulations, we expand the 

boundaries of the ‘‘Russian River 

Valley’’ viticultural area in Sonoma 

County, California, as proposed, 

effective 30 days from this document’s 

publication date. 

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. The 

proposed expansion of the Russian 

River Valley viticultural area will not 

affect currently approved wine labels. 

The adoption of this expansion may 

allow additional vintners to use 

‘‘Russian River Valley’’ as an 

appellation of origin on their wine 

labels. For a wine to be eligible to use 

as an appellation of origin the name of 

a viticultural area specified in part 9 of 

the TTB regulations, at least 85 percent 

of the grapes used to make the wine 

must have been grown within the area 

represented by that name, and the wine 

must meet the other conditions listed in 

27 CFR 4.25(e)(3). Different rules apply 

if a wine has a brand name containing 

a viticultural area 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. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

We certify that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

This regulation imposes no new 

reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

administrative requirement. Any benefit 

derived from the use of a viticultural 

area name is the result of a proprietor’s 

efforts and consumer acceptance of 

wines from that area. Therefore, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is 

required. 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule is not a significant 

regulatory action as defined by 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735). 

Therefore, it requires no regulatory 

assessment. 

Drafting Information 

Nancy Sutton of the Regulations and 

Procedures Division drafted this 

document. 

List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9 

Wine. 

The Regulatory Amendment 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, we amend 27 CFR, chapter 1, 

part 9, 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. Amend § 9.66 by revising 

paragraphs (b) and (c)(8) through (c)(14), 

redesignating paragraphs (c)(15) through 

(c)(26) as (c)(23) through (c)(34), and 

adding new paragraphs (c)(15) through 

(c)(22) to read as follows: 

§ 9.66 Russian River Valley. 

* * * * * 

(b) Approved maps. The appropriate 

maps for determining the boundaries of 

the Russian River Valley viticultural 

area are 11 United States Geological 

Survey 1:24,000 Scale topographic 

maps. They are titled: 

(1) Healdsburg, California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1993; 

(2) Guerneville, California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1993; 

(3) Cazadero, California Quadrangle—

Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute Series, edition 

of 1978; 

(4) Duncans Mills California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1979; 

(5) Camp Meeker, California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1995; 

(6) Valley Ford, California 

Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, edition 

of 1954; photorevised 1971; 

53300 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

(7) Two Rock, California Quadrangle, 

7.5 Minute Series, edition of 1954; 

photorevised 1971; 

(8) Sebastopol, California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1954; photorevised 

1980; 

(9) Santa Rosa, California 

Quadrangle—Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 

Series, edition of 1954; and 

(10) Mark West Springs, California 

Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, edition 

of 1998, and 

(11) Jimtown, California Quadrangle—

Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute Series, edition 

of 1993. 

(c) Boundaries. * * * 

* * * * * 

(8) Proceed southeast along the 

Bohemian Highway, crossing over the 

Camp Meeker map, to the town of 

Freestone, where the highway intersects 

at BM 214 with an unnamed mediumduty road (known locally as Bodega 

Road, section 12, T6N, R10W, on the 

Valley Ford map). 

(9) Proceed 0.9 mile northeast on 

Bodega Road to its intersection, at BM 

486, with Jonvive Road to the north and 

an unnamed light duty road to the 

south, (known locally as Barnett Valley 

Road, T6N, R9W, on the Camp Meeker 

map). 

(10) Proceed 2.2 miles south, and then 

east, on Barnett Valley Road, crossing 

over the Valley Ford map, to its 

intersection with Burnside Road in 

section 17, T6N, R9W, on the Two Rock 

map. 

(11) Proceed 3.3 miles southeast on 

Burnside Road to its intersection with 

an unnamed medium duty road at BM 

375, T6N, R9W, on the Two Rock map. 

(12) Proceed 0.6 mile straight 

southeast to an unnamed 610-foot 

elevation peak, 1.5 miles southwest of 

Canfield School, T6N, R9W, on the Two 

Rock map. 

(13) Proceed 0.75 mile straight eastsoutheast to an unnamed 641-foot 

elevation peak, 1.4 miles southsouthwest of Canfield School, T6N, 

R9W, on the Two Rock map. 

(14) Proceed 0.85 mile straight 

northeast to the intersection with an 

unnamed intermittent stream and 

Canfield Road; continue 0.3 mile 

straight in the same northeast line of 

direction to its intersection with the 

common boundary of Ranges 8 and 9, 

just west of an unnamed unimproved 

dirt road, T6N, on the Two Rock map. 

(15) Proceed 1.8 miles straight north 

along the common Range 8 and 9 

boundary line to its intersection with 

Blucher Creek, T6N, on the Two Rock 

map. 

(16) Proceed 1.25 miles generally 

northeast along Blucher Creek to its 

intersection with Highway 116, also 

known as Gravenstein Highway, in 

section 18, T6N, R8W, on the Two Rock 

map. 

(17) Proceed 0.2 mile straight 

southeast along Highway 116 to its 

intersection with an unnamed light duty 

road to the north in section 18, T6N, 

R8W, on the Two Rock map. 

(18) Proceed 0.1 mile straight 

northwest along the unnamed light duty 

road to its intersection with an 

unnamed medium-duty road to the east, 

(known as Todd Road in section 18, 

T6N, R8W, on the Two Rock map). 

(19) Proceed 4.8 miles east, north, and 

east again along Todd Road, a mediumduty road, crossing over the Sebastopol 

map and then passing over U.S. 

Highway 101 and continuing straight 

east 0.1 mile to Todd Road’s 

intersection with Santa Rosa Avenue, a 

primary road that is generally parallel to 

U.S. Highway 101, in section 2, T6N, 

R8W, on the Santa Rosa map. 

(20) Proceed 5.8 miles generally north 

along Santa Rosa Avenue, which 

becomes Mendocino Avenue, to its 

intersection with an unnamed 

secondary road, known locally as 

Bicentennial Way, 0.3 mile northnorthwest of BM 161 on Mendocino 

Avenue, section 11, T7N, R8W, on the 

Santa Rosa map. 

(21) Proceed 2.5 miles straight north, 

crossing over the 906-foot elevation 

peak in section 35 of the Santa Rosa 

map, to its intersection with Mark West 

Springs Road and the meandering 280- 

foot elevation in section 26, T8N, R8W, 

of the Mark West Springs map. 

(22) Proceed 4.8 miles northnorthwest along Mark West Springs 

Road, which becomes Porter Creek 

Road, to its intersection with Franz 

Valley Road, a light-duty road to the 

north of Porter Creek Road, in section 

12, T8N, R8W, on the Mark West 

Springs map. 

* * * * * 

Signed: July 6, 2005. 

John J. Manfreda, 

Administrator. 

Approved: August 12, 2005. 

Timothy E. Skud, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade, and 

Tariff Policy). 

[FR Doc. 05–17758 Filed 9–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–31–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[T.D. TTB–33; Re: Notice No. 33] 

RIN 1513–AA97 

Establishment of the Niagara 

Escarpment Viticultural Area (2004R–

589P) 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision. 

SUMMARY: This Treasury decision 

establishes the Niagara Escarpment 

viticultural area in Niagara County, New 

York. We designate viticultural areas to 

allow vintners to better describe the 

origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. 

DATES: Effective October 11, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy Sutton, Regulations and 

Procedures Division, Alcohol and 

Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 925 

Lakeville St., No. 158, Petaluma, 

California 94952; telephone (415) 271–

1254. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (the FAA Act, 27 

U.S.C. 201 et seq.) requires that alcohol 

beverage labels provide the consumer 

with adequate information regarding a 

product’s identity and prohibits the use 

of misleading information on such 

labels. The FAA Act also authorizes the 

Secretary of the Treasury to issue 

regulations to carry out its provisions. 

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau (TTB) administers these 

regulations. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) allows the establishment of 

definitive viticultural areas and 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) contains the 

list of approved viticultural areas. 

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 

distinguishable by geographical 

features, the boundaries of which have 

been recognized and defined in part 9