[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72707-72710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23679]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

27 CFR Part 9

[T.D. TTB-40; Re: Notice No. 46]
RIN 1513-AB01


Establishment of the Wahluke Slope Viticultural Area (2005R-026P)

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision.

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SUMMARY: This Treasury decision establishes the Wahluke Slope 
viticultural area in Grant County, Washington. 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 6, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: N. A. Sutton, Regulations and Rulings 
Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 925 Lakeville St., 
No. 158, Petaluma, CA 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 consumers with adequate information regarding product identity 
and prohibits the use of misleading information on those 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

[[Page 72708]]

geographical 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 grape-growing region 
as a viticultural area. Section 9.3(b) of the TTB regulations requires 
the petition to include--
    <bullet> Evidence that the proposed viticultural area is locally 
and/or nationally known by the name specified in the petition;
    <bullet> Historical or current evidence that supports setting the 
boundary of the proposed viticultural area as the petition specifies;
    <bullet> Evidence relating to the geographical features, such as 
climate, soils, elevation, and physical features, that distinguish the 
proposed viticultural area from surrounding areas;
    <bullet> A description of the specific boundary of the proposed 
viticultural area, based on features found on United States Geological 
Survey (USGS) maps; and
    <bullet> A copy of the appropriate USGS map(s) with the proposed 
viticultural area's boundary prominently marked.

Wahluke Slope Petition and Rulemaking

General Background

    The Wahluke Slope Wine Grape Growers Association, represented by 
Alan J. Busacca, Ph.D., proposed the establishment of the 81,000-acre 
Wahluke Slope viticultural area. Located in southern Grant County in 
eastern Washington State, the Wahluke Slope area is approximately 145 
miles southeast of Seattle and immediately north of the Hanford 
Reservation of the United States Department of Energy (USDOE). The 
proposed Wahluke Slope area is also entirely within the existing 
Columbia Valley viticultural area (27 CFR 9.74).
    The major distinguishing features of the proposed Wahluke Slope 
viticultural area include its single landform and geographic isolation, 
distinctive soil patterns, and unique climatic characteristics. We 
summarize below the evidence submitted in support of the petition.

Name Evidence

    The eight USGS quadrangle maps used to describe the boundary of the 
proposed viticultural area label the region within the proposed area 
and the nearby Hanford Reservation as ``Wahluke Slope.'' Several 
commercial maps also label this region of southern Grant County as 
Wahluke Slope.
    The 2002 Washington Wine Grape Acreage Survey, compiled by the 
Washington Agricultural Statistics Service, identifies the Wahluke 
Slope area within the larger Columbia Valley viticultural area. Also, 
the April 19, 1999, edition of the ``Hanford Reach,'' a USDOE 
publication, states that the Secretary of Energy proposed to preserve a 
portion of the Wahluke Slope area along the Columbia River. A Grant 
County tourism press release dated March 24, 2004, describes the 
scenery and recreational opportunities in the Wahluke Slope area.

Boundary Evidence

    The Wahluke Slope sits on a mega alluvial plain, also known as an 
alluvial fan. The proposed boundary line encompasses the entire portion 
of the mega fan potentially available for vineyard development, 
including all land held in private ownership and small amounts of 
government-owned land. Also, the Wahluke Slope area is an isolated 
island of wine grape production, with no known vineyards within five 
miles, in any direction, beyond the proposed boundary line.
    Generally, lands to the east, south, and west of the proposed 
Wahluke Slope area's boundary line are Federal-owned or State-owned 
property, as noted on USGS maps of the area. To the north, the Saddle 
Mountains flank the proposed area's 1,480-foot boundary line.
    To the southeast of the proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area, 
the land has a high water table, cold air pockets, and frost, which 
create an environment unsuitable for vineyard production. To the south 
of the proposed boundary is the Hanford Reservation. The classified 
activities and history of this USDOE reservation make it unsuitable for 
agricultural development. To the west of the Wahluke Slope area, and 
across the Columbia River, are steeply sloping, rugged canyons. The 
soils there are shallow, stony, and unsuitable for any crop. Also, to 
the north, beyond the proposed area's 1,480-foot boundary line, the 
Saddle Mountains have high elevation bedrock slopes, no irrigation 
access, and non-agricultural soils.
    The combination of terrain with unsuitable growing conditions and 
government-owned lands surrounding the proposed Wahluke Slope 
viticultural area, in conjunction with the distinguishing viticultural 
features of the area, makes the proposed boundary line the most 
appropriate for the proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area.

Distinguishing Features

    The Wahluke Slope region is situated on the Columbia Plateau in 
eastern Washington, which is bordered by the Rocky Mountains on the 
north and east, the Blue Mountains to the south, and the Cascade 
Mountains to the west. The proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area 
sits on the south-facing alluvial benchlands of the Saddle Mountains.
Topography
    The proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area's elevation varies 
from 425 feet along the Columbia River to 1,480 feet on the south slope 
of the Saddle Mountains. Most of the proposed area's vineyards are 
between 425 feet and 1,000 feet in elevation.
    The proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area is geographically 
isolated from other wine production areas in the State of Washington. 
Wahluke Slope is bounded by the bedrock ridge of the Saddle Mountains, 
the Columbia River, and government-owned lands, providing isolation and 
a separate viticultural identity.
    The proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area sits on a mega 
alluvial fan, a single landform geographical area, extending 15 miles 
in length. Other viticultural areas in Washington State have more 
diverse and complex landforms, with the possible exception of the much 
smaller Red Mountain viticultural area (27 CFR 9.167).
    The south-facing Wahluke Slope landform has relatively flat 
agricultural sites that allow for viticultural uniformity in plant 
vigor and ripening. The mega fan eventually drops away several hundred 
feet on three sides, providing good air drainage that minimizes spring 
and fall freezes in the area.
Soils
    Ice-age events played an important role in the formation of soils 
in the proposed viticultural area. When the Lake Missoula glacial ice 
dam repeatedly failed, large water floods flowed across eastern 
Washington depositing gravel bars and fine-grained sandy and silty 
sediments. Winds reworked the glacial sediments to form dunes of sand 
and loess (the silty sediment accumulated from the fallout of dust). 
These sediments range in

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thickness from a few inches to many feet deep. Soils of the proposed 
Wahluke Slope viticultural area have formed predominantly from deep 
wind-blown sand, averaging greater than 60 inches in depth. To a lesser 
extent, some soils have formed from the wind-blown sand or silty loess 
sediments of the giant glacial floods.
    Wahluke Slope soils are distinctive by their uniformity over large 
areas. The Quincy-Burbank-Hezel soil series, which covers more than 
half the proposed viticultural area, encompasses a contiguous area of 
several square miles as documented in the Soil Survey of Grant County, 
Washington, (Gentry, 1984) on map sheets 163, 164, and 169. This 
uniformity contrasts with the soil variability of some nearby regions, 
including the Red Mountain viticultural area and the Canoe Ridge area 
of the Horse Heaven Hills region. Other soils series within the 
proposed boundaries documented in the Soil Survey of Grant County 
include the Sagemoor-Kennewick-Warden, the Taunton-Timmerman-Quincy, 
and the Scoon-Taunton-Finley series, as well as several others with 
small acreages.
    Wahluke Slope soils are unique with their smooth landform shape, 
shallow slope angle that averages less than 8 percent, and predominant 
south-facing orientation at the top of the mega alluvial fan. This 
smooth landform results in consistent climate variability across the 
proposed viticultural area.
Climate
    The State of Washington's Public Agricultural Weather System (PAWS) 
Web site provides the statistics used in the Wahluke Slope viticultural 
area petition. Climatic information for the petition generally spans 10 
years--1994 through 2003--as available.
    Precipitation in the proposed Wahluke Slope viticultural area 
averages 5.9 inches annually, making it the driest area in that region 
of eastern Washington, according to PAWS. Also, the proposed area has 
the lowest harvest rainfall average for the weather stations compared. 
The viticultural advantages include irrigation control during the 
growing season and low potential for harmful rainfall at harvest.
    Pan evapotranspiration (Etp) in the Wahluke Slope area ranks first 
among the nine PAWS stations cited. Photosynthesis and transpiration, 
which are key factors in grape production, are the highest in the 
Wahluke Slope area as compared to other selected stations in 
Washington.
    Wahluke Slope averages 3,013 degree-days of heat accumulation 
annually. Each degree that a day's mean temperature is above 50 degrees 
Fahrenheit, which is the minimum temperature required for grapevine 
growth, is counted as one degree-day (see ``General Viticulture,'' 
Albert J. Winkler, University of California Press, 1975). In addition, 
the Wahluke Slope region ranks third highest in mean maximum 
temperature, mean annual temperature, and solar radiation, according to 
PAWS data. These temperatures confirm Wahluke Slope as a grape-growing 
hot spot within Washington State.
    Finally, Wahluke Slope is the third windiest site evaluated, which 
affects grape plant growth, causing shorter shoot length, smaller leaf 
size, and fewer and smaller grape clusters.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Comments Received

    On May 19, 2005, TTB published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
regarding the establishment of the Wahluke Slope viticultural area in 
the Federal Register (70 FR 28861) as Notice No. 46. In that notice, 
TTB requested comments by July 18, 2005, from all interested persons. 
TTB received one comment in response. This comment strongly supports 
the establishment of the Wahluke Slope viticultural area.

TTB Finding

    After review of the petition and the comment received, TTB finds 
that the evidence submitted supports the establishment of the proposed 
viticultural area. Therefore, under the authority of the Federal 
Alcohol Administration Act and part 4 of our regulations, we establish 
the ``Wahluke Slope'' viticultural area in Grant County, Washington, 
effective 30-days from this document's publication date.

Boundary Description

    See the narrative boundary description of the viticultural area in 
the regulatory text published at the end of this notice.

Maps

    The petitioner provided the required maps, and we list them below 
in the regulatory text.

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. With the establishment of this viticultural area and 
its inclusion in part 9 of the TTB regulations, its name, ``Wahluke 
Slope,'' is recognized as a name of viticultural significance. In 
addition, with the establishment of the Wahluke Slope viticultural 
area, the name ``Wahluke'' standing alone will be considered a term of 
viticultural significance because consumers and vintners could 
reasonably attribute the quality, reputation, or other characteristic 
of wine made from grapes grown in the Wahluke Slope viticultural area 
to the name Wahluke itself. Consequently, wine bottlers using ``Wahluke 
Slope'' or ``Wahluke'' in a brand name, including a trademark, or in 
another label reference as to the origin of the wine, must ensure that 
the product is eligible to use the viticultural area's name as an 
appellation of origin.
    For a wine to be eligible to use as an appellation of origin, a 
viticultural area name or other term specified as being viticulturally 
significant 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 or other term, and the wine must meet the 
other conditions listed in 27 CFR 4.25(e)(3). If the wine is not 
eligible to use the viticultural area name or other viticulturally 
significant term as an appellation of origin and that name or other 
term 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 viticultural area name or other viticulturally 
significant term 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 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.

[[Page 72710]]

Drafting Information

    Nancy Sutton of the Regulations and Rulings Division drafted this 
document.

List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9

    Wine.

The Regulatory Amendment

0
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, we amend 27 CFR, chapter 1, 
part 9, as follows:

PART 9--AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 9 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 27 U.S.C. 205.

Subpart C--Approved American Viticultural Areas

0
2. Amend subpart C by adding Sec.  9.192 to read as follows:


Sec.  9.192  Wahluke Slope.

    (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this 
section is ``Wahluke Slope''. For purposes of part 4 of this chapter, 
``Wahluke Slope'' and ``Wahluke'' are terms of viticultural 
significance.
    (b) Approved Maps. The appropriate maps for determining the 
boundary of the Wahluke Slope viticultural area are eight United States 
Geological Survey 1:24,000 scale topographic maps. They are titled:
    (1) Beverly Quadrangle, Washington, 1965;
    (2) Beverly SE Quadrangle, Washington--Grant Co., 1965;
    (3) Smyrna Quadrangle, Washington--Grant Co., Provisional Edition 
1986;
    (4) Wahatis Peak Quadrangle, Washington--Grant Co., Provisional 
Edition 1986;
    (5) Coyote Rapids Quadrangle, Washington, Provisional Edition 1986;
    (6) Vernita Bridge Quadrangle, Washington, Provisional Edition 
1986;
    (7) Priest Rapids NE Quadrangle, Washington, Provisional Edition 
1986; and
    (8) Priest Rapids Quadrangle, Washington, 1948; photo revised 1978.
    (c) Boundary. The Wahluke Slope viticultural area is located in 
Grant County, Washington. The boundary of the Wahluke Slope 
viticultural area is as described below:
    (1) The beginning point is at the northwest corner of the 
viticultural area where the east bank of the Columbia River intersects 
the north boundary line of section 22, T15N/R23E, on the Beverly map; 
then
    (2) From the beginning point proceed straight east 1.5 miles to the 
intersection of the section 23 north boundary line and the 1,480-foot 
elevation line, T15N/R23E, Beverly map; then
    (3) Proceed generally east along the meandering 1,480-foot 
elevation line, crossing the Beverly map, the Beverly SE map, and the 
Smyrna map, and continue onto the Wahatis Peak map to the intersection 
of the 1,480-foot elevation line and the eastern boundary line of 
section 15, which forms a portion of the boundary line of the Hanford 
Site, T15N/R26E, Wahatis Peak map; then
    (4) Proceed generally southwest along the Hanford Site boundary in 
a series of 90 degree angles, crossing the Wahatis map, the Coyote 
Rapids map in section 36, T15N/R25E, and the Vernita Bridge map, and 
continue onto the Priest Rapids NE map to the intersection of the 
Hanford Site boundary and the north bank of the Columbia River, section 
10, T13N/R24E, Priest Rapids NE map; then
    (5) Proceed generally west along the north bank of the Columbia 
River, crossing onto the Priest Rapids map and, turning north-
northwest, continue along the river bank and, crossing onto the Beverly 
map, return to the beginning point.

    Signed: September 29, 2005.
John J. Manfreda,
Administrator.

    Approved: November 3, 2005.
Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, (Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy).
[FR Doc. 05-23679 Filed 12-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-31-P