On 30 June, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) designated “Dahlonega Plateau” as American Viticultural Area (AVA). The area is situated in northern Georgia. The petition had been submitted by the “Dahlonega–Lumpkin Chamber & Visitors Bureau” on behalf of the local vineyard owners and vintners.
An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region having distinguishing features as described in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as well as a name and delineated boundary. AVAs 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. As a result, winemakers can more accurately describe the origin of their wines, and consumers more easily identify wines for purchase. Currently, there are 242 established AVAs in the United States. More information is available @ https://ttb.gov/press/press-release-fy-18-07-ttb-establishes-dahlonega-plateau-viticultural-area.shtml
The AVA is one of the several systems available in the USA to recognize distinctive products’ names which might qualify as GIs. The American Origin Products Association (AOPA) – a member of oriGIn which works in the USA to establish a stronger economy for distinctive product names closely tied to their regions – has identified at least 5 of them (in some cases they might overlap, as a product’s name might benefit from more than one system): AVAs (for wines), trademarks – including certification and collective marks (for all kind of products), political appellations (for wines), labelling rules (for distilled spirits) and marketing orders (for fruits, vegetables and crops). Please find more information about AOPA activities and objectives @ http://www.aop-us.org/
This summary has been extracted from an “oriGIn Alert”, which is a service reserved exclusively to oriGIn members. Click here to join oriGIn
For more information about GI protection at national and regional level & GIs in the US see the respective categories in the section Policy and Advocacy
