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AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREA

American viticultural area (AVA) is a delimited grape growing area with distinguishable features, the boundary of which has been approved and established by TTB at 27 CFR Part 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

TTB designates viticultural areas, also known as AVAs, to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. 

Any interested individual or group may petition for a new or modified AVA through the process outlined in, 27 CFR Part 9 American Viticultural Areas.  The main AVA petitioning elements include substantive documentation and evidence for the name usage, boundary line chosen, distinguishing features of the area, and a written boundary description with accompanying USGS maps.