wine labeling and content legislative ......wine labeling and content legislative concepts synopsis...

WINE LABELING AND CONTENT LEGISLATIVE CONCEPTSSYNOPSIS DRAFT 12/9/18

Legislative Concept – Conjunctive Labeling A. Directs the OLCC, upon the advice of a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), to undertake a rulemaking process and adopt rules on or before February 1, 2020.

B. Any wine labeled with an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that is located (“nested”) within a larger AVA may be required to carry the designation of that larger AVA on the front or back label in a type size not smaller than two millimeters on containers more than 187 milliliters, or not smaller than one millimeter on containers of 187 milliliters or less.

C. �e Commission shall determine, upon the advice of the RAC and the Oregon wine industry, which AVAs will be subject to these provisions. It will also determine whether any AVA that crosses from Oregon into a neighbor-ing state can be subject to these provisions.

D. As an example, any wine labeled with an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that is located (“nested”) within the Willamette Valley AVA would have to bear the designation “Willamette Valley” on the label.

1. �is statute would not require the use of any nested AVA. It only applies if a winery chooses to use a nested AVA. If a wine is labeled with only the larger AVA as its appellation of origin, such as “Willamette Valley,” nothing further is required regarding conjunctive labeling.

2. �e name of the larger AVA, such as “Willamette Valley,” would not need to be adjacent to the nested AVA name used as the appellation of origin, nor in the same size or font.

3. A wine labeled with a “nested-nested” AVA such as the proposed “Laurelwood” AVA may carry, but would not be required to carry, the name of any other nested AVA within which it is nested, in this case “Chehalem Mountains.”

E. �ese provisions become e�ective for wines bottled after December 31, 2022.

F. Directs the OLCC to report back to the legislature no later than February 28, 2020 concerning the recommendations of the RAC and the rulemaking undertaken by the Commission.

G. Directs OLCC to determine appropriate punishment for violation of this conjunctive labeling law.

PO Box 25162Portland, OR 97298

503.297.2962willamettewines.com

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Legislative Concept – Exclusive Grape Sourcing A. Directs the OLCC, upon the advice of a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), to undertake a rulemaking process and adopt rules on or before February 1, 2020.

�e rules would establish “exclusive grape sourcing” which would require, if the appellation of origin claimed or implied anywhere on a wine label is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) entirely within Oregon, as approved under 27 CFR Part 9, that all the grapes used in the wine must have come from that AVA. B. Directs the OLCC to establish a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) to make recommendations on the administration of this law.

C. Allows the Commission to exempt certain AVAs from the provisions of this law upon the recommendation of the RAC and advice from the wine industry in that AVA. However, an AVA nested within a larger AVA that is not exempt from this law cannot itself be exempted from the law. It will also determine whether any AVA that crosses from Oregon into a neighboring state can be subject to these provisions.

E. Directs the OLCC, upon the advice of the RAC, to identify mechanisms (programs, policies, and rules as needed) for the OLCC to educate and enforce such grape sourcing standards among in-state and out-of-state wineries producing wines from Oregon AVAs and other appellations of origin within the state of Oregon, and to identify opportunities to partner with TTB (and other relevant state and federal agencies) to inform and enforce federal labeling law. F. Directs OLCC to report back to the legislature no later than February 28, 2020 concerning the recommendations of the RAC and the rulemaking undertaken by the Commission.

G. Directs OLCC that existing sourcing and wine cellar record-keeping requirements shall be used to track fruit from vineyard to the bottling (27 CFR 24.314).

H. Directs OLCC to determine appropriate punishment for violation of this exclusive grape sourcing law. PO Box 25162

Portland, OR 97298


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Legislative Concept – Grape Variety ContentA. Directs the OLCC, upon the advice of a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), to undertake a rulemaking process and adopt rules on or before February 1, 2020.

1. �ese rules would apply only to wines: i. with an appellation of origin claimed or implied to be an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that is entirely within Oregon, e.g. the Willamette Valley AVA or one of its “nested” AVAs; and ii. labeled with a type designation claimed or implied to be the name of a single grape variety. iii. However, these rules will not apply to wines labeled with a type designation claimed or implied to be one of those eighteen (18) grape varieties currently speci�ed in OAR 845-010-0915(2), which have been “exempt” from more restrictive provisions and may thus be used to designate a wine if that wine derives at least seventy-�ve percent (75%) of its volume from grapes of the named variety.

2. �ese rules will require that all applicable wines be produced subject to the following grape variety content requirements: i. For applicable wines bottled after December 31, 2022: a) Such wines shall derive at least ninety-�ve percent of their volume from the grape variety named, and all grape varieties used in the wine must be listed somewhere on the label. b) Such wines produced entirely from the named grape variety require no list of the varieties used. ii. For applicable wines bottled after December 31, 2029: a) All grape varieties shall be deemed “exclusive” varieties unless they are “exempt” varieties (per 1(iii” above), or they have been removed from that “exclusive” status through an OLCC administrative process (per 2(ii)(c) below); and b) All applicable wines labeled with a type designation of an “exclusive” grape variety shall derive all volume from the single grape variety named. c) Grape varieties other than Pinot noir may be removed from that “exclusive” status through an OLCC administrative process, in which the advice of the Oregon wine industry is sought; and d) Applicable wines labeled with a type designation of a “non-exempt” and “non-exclusive” grape variety shall derive at least ninety-�ve percent (95%) of their volume from the named grape variety, and all grape varieties used in the wine must be listed on the label.

3. �ese rules shall provide standards pursuant to which a winery may



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request and the OLCC may approve variances or label use-ups to resolve inadvertent non-compliance situations caused by topping mistakes, blending mistakes, record-keeping mistakes, or the identi�cation of rogue vines of a variety other than as labeled, which would otherwise cause a wine to not comply with state law;

B. Directs the OLCC to establish a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) to make recommendations on the administration of this law.

C. Allows the Commission to exempt certain AVAs from speci�c provisions of this law upon the recommendation of the RAC and advice from the wine industry in that AVA. However, an AVA nested within a larger AVA that is not exempt from this law cannot itself be exempted from the law. �e Commis-sion will also determine whether any AVA that crosses from Oregon into a neighboring state can be subject to these provisions.

D. Directs the Commission to ensure clarity and simplicity regarding the minimum percentages required across the State of each grape variety in each AVA.

E. Directs the OLCC, upon the advice of the RAC, to identify mechanisms (programs, policies, and rules as needed) for the OLCC to educate and enforce such grape sourcing and labeling standards among in-state and out-of-state wineries producing wines from Oregon AVAs and other appella-tions of origin within the state of Oregon, and to identify opportunities to partner with TTB (and other relevant state and federal agencies) to inform and enforce federal labeling law. F. Directs OLCC to report back to the legislature no later than February 28, 2020 concerning the recommendations of the RAC and the rulemaking undertaken by the Commission. G. Directs OLCC that under no circumstance should a winery be exposed to any enforcement process or penalty for an inadvertent one-time production mistake or for existing rogue vines of a variety other than the labeled variety that results in a bottled wine having less than 1.0% of its volume derived from grapes of another variety. H. Directs OLCC that existing sourcing and wine cellar record keeping requirements shall be used to track fruit from vineyard to the bottling (27 CFR 24.314).

I. Directs OLCC to determine appropriate punishment for violation of this grape variety content law.



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wine labeling and content legislative ......wine labeling and content legislative concepts synopsis...

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