After writing last weeks article about American Viticulture Area’s, I found information about a much related area of wine law that I thought would be a perfect coupling to last weeks article. If you have ever, as I am sure you have, ordered a bottle of wine from the AVA Napa Valley, you would have seen on the bottle “Napa Valley.” Now if you have ever been to Napa Valley, you would know that there are many different parts to the valley, each with their own characteristics that may cause it to stand out on its own from Napa Valley. The reason that it must say Napa Valley is that this particular AVA is part of a conjunctive labeling law. This law passed back in the early 1980’s, and has brought fruition to the area, and has caused Napa to been known internationally since.
So what exactly is conjunctive labeling? In a general sense, it is the labeling of wine that requires the label of the “main AVA region” to be placed on the bottle. For instance, all wine grown in Sonoma Valley must say “Sonoma Valley” on the label. The law is governed as a recording with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, as well as the California Alcohol Beverage Control. If a bottle produced in one of these regions does not possess the proper labeling under the law, then the company could get fined and criminally prosecuted against for violating the conjunctive labeling law.
The opponents to conjunctive labeling believe that these laws infringe on the rights of free marketing. For instance, the Los Carneros region is not allowed to just have “Los Carneros” labeling, it must also state “Sonoma Valley.” Therefore, it could loose an edge over other regions in Sonoma Valley that are not yet developed or established in the wine industry. Proponents of conjunctive labeling of course bout against these arguments. They state that the conjunctive label is left open to style, font, and other design options. Also, the conjunctive label does not have to directly above the sub-region name, nor does it have to be the same sized font of the sub-region. The size of the conjunctive label must be no smaller than 2mm and must appear on the front of the label, but all other creativities are left open to interpretation and application.
Yet the debate continues, is it better for the region to have conjunctive labeling or to not have this regulation. I guess the answer would of course depend upon how the winery is established and what area they grow in prior to the law being enforced. For some it’s better, for others it may infringe upon their success. What is important is to understand when it applies to your wine and how to comply with the laws to best market your wine.
For legal services or questions regarding this blog, please contact me at dwetton@lauruslaw.com.
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