TTB NEWSLETTER | Weekly News

October 18, 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

Greetings! This week’s top news includes the launch of our TTB outreach page on TTB.gov, new acting designations, information about updates to New Zealand wine labeling law, and two new proposed AVAs.

NEW TTB OUTREACH PAGE LAUNCHED

To help you learn about TTB outreach activities, we’ve developed a new Outreach Program page on TTB.gov.

TTB outreach is designed to provide education to facilitate voluntary compliance and access to TTB subject matter experts, and it can take many forms, including webinars, seminars, or answering your questions at trade show booths. Our outreach is often hosted by us, although we also team with trade associations and others to expand our reach.

Our new Outreach Program page is a one-stop shop for industry members to stay informed about TTB outreach events. The page lists future events where we’ll be providing education or answering questions as well as links to TTB presentations and webinars held in the past.

We’re also launching a new way for you to request TTB participation at your event. Although we can’t accept every invitation, the new Speaker Request Form will help us evaluate and prioritize the requests we receive.

Education and outreach are priorities for us, and we hope you’ll bookmark the Outreach Program page and take advantage of opportunities to meet and learn from TTB employees.

NEW TTB ACTING DESIGNATIONS

Allen Leftwich, Director, Tax Audit Division, will be serving as Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Permitting & Taxation. Mr. Leftwich brings his extensive experience and knowledge of TTB’s jurisdiction to the Office of Permitting & Taxation, where he will oversee critical TTB functions relating to tax and application services.

Gail Davis, who just completed a detail as the Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Permitting & Taxation, is now detailed to the Office of External Affairs/Chief of Staff, where she will be spearheading the coordination of several high priority bureau projects, including initiatives relating to modernizing and integrating TTB systems and working to improve digital service delivery across all of TTB’s online platforms, including TTB.gov, through improved understanding of and engagement with external stakeholders.

COMPOSITION REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW ZEALAND WINE

We were recently informed of certain updates to New Zealand's wine labeling law. We remind industry members that, under TTB’s Federal Alcohol Administration Act regulations, imported wine labeled with an appellation of origin must conform to the requirements of the foreign laws and regulations governing the composition, method of production, and designation of wines available for consumption within the country of origin (27 CFR 4.25(b)(2)(ii), (d)(2)(ii), and (e)(3)(iii)).

ROYAL SLOPE AND ALISOS CANYON AVAs PROPOSED

We recently proposed two new American viticultural areas (AVAs); Royal Slope and Alisos Canyon. We designate AVAs to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

Royal Slope. We are accepting comments through December 16, 2019, on Notice No. 186, Proposed Establishment of the Royal Slope Viticultural Area. The 156,389-acre “Royal Slope” viticultural area is located in Adams and Grant Counties, in Washington. The proposed Royal Slope viticultural area is located within the established Columbia Valley viticultural area. We are making this proposal in response to a petition filed on behalf of the Royal Slope Grower’s Association.

You may submit comments electronically on this proposal and view copies of the proposed rule, selected supporting materials, and any comments we receive about this proposal at Regulations.gov within Docket No. TTB–2019–0008.

Alisos Canyon. We are accepting comments through December 16, 2019, on Notice No. 185, Proposed Establishment of the Alisos Canyon Viticultural Area. The approximately 5,774-acre “Alisos Canyon” viticultural area is located in Santa Barbara County, California, and is entirely within the established Central Coast viticultural area. We are making this proposal in response to a petition filed on behalf of local vineyard and winery owners.

Additional information:

View the boundaries of these proposed AVAs using our AVA Map Explorer
Find links to the rulemaking dockets for these proposals on our Wine – Notices of Proposed Rulemaking page at TTB.gov.

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