Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/210765
viewpoint (Continued from page 82.) marine air and moderate rainfall. The TTB recognized both the macro-level similarities shared by the 11 new AVAs and their micro-level distinctiveness. Just as in France, where a region like Burgundy shares overarching characteristics but appellations allow consumers to distinguish Chambertin from Volnay, or Chassagne-Montrachet from Meursault, so will consumers come to know differences between the Adelaida District and El Pomar, or the Templeton Gap and San Juan Creek. Appellation systems, at their best, give consumers both an understanding of what grapes thrive in a macroclimate and what character microclimates and soils add to the mix. As for wineries' or other marketers' worries that the creation of new AVAs within our existing one will diminish the marketing value of the existing AVA, the 2007 Paso Robles Conjunctive Labeling Law—stipulating that wineries who choose to use one of the new subappellations also will be required to use "Paso Robles" as significantly—should allay their fears. This law, modeled on one passed for the Napa Valley in 1990, has been widely credited with helping establish Napa as the most powerful brand in American wine. The continued presence of Paso Robles on wine labels does not diminish the impact of having the different AVAs approved. These new AVAs will be a powerful tool for wineries to explain why certain grapes are particularly well suited to certain parts of the appellation, and why some wines show the characteristics they do while other wines, from the same or The 11 proposed American Viticultural Areas as published in the Federal Register. similar grapes, show differently. Ultimately, the new AVAs will allow these newly created sub-regions to develop identities for themselves with a clarity impossible in a single, large AVA. While it will take time to build the reputation of these new AVAs, over the long term we believe that the Paso Robles wine community will benefit enormously from the ability to identify successful winemaking models and build a place identity of their own. And the wine-consuming public will ultimately reap the rewards. Jason Haas is partner and general manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, Calif., where he is a member of the winemaking committee, manages wholesale distribution of Tablas Creek and directs local and national marketing efforts. He also writes Blog Tablas Creek (tablascreek.typepad. com), which was named "Best Winery Blog" at the American Wine Blog Awards in 2008 and 2011. Win es & Vin es D EC EM b er 20 13 81