[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 210 (Thursday, October 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61745-61749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27316]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

27 CFR Part 9

[T.D. TTB-6; Notice No. 963]
RIN 1513-AA36


Bennett Valley Viticultural Area (2002R-009T)

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury.

ACTION: Treasury decision, final rule.

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SUMMARY: This Treasury decision establishes the Bennett Valley 
viticultural area in Sonoma County, California. It is entirely within 
the North Coast viticultural area and predominantly in the Sonoma 
Valley viticultural area, except for a small overlap into the Sonoma 
Coast viticultural area. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 
believes the use of viticultural area names as appellations of origin 
in wine labeling and advertising helps consumers identify the wines 
they may purchase. It also allows wineries to better designate the 
specific grape-growing area in which their wine grapes were grown.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 29, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: N. A. Sutton, Specialist, Regulations 
and Procedures Division (Oregon), Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 
Bureau, 946 Northwest Circle Blvd., 286, Corvallis, OR 97330; 
telephone: 415-271-1254.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background on Viticultural Areas

TTB Authority

    The Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act) at 27 U.S.C. 
205(e) requires that alcohol beverage labels provide the consumer with 
adequate information regarding a product's identity, while prohibiting 
the use of deceptive information on such labels. The FAA Act also 
authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry 
out the Act's provisions. The Secretary has delegated this authority to 
the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
    Regulations in 27 CFR part 4, Labeling and Advertising of Wine, 
allow the establishment of definitive viticultural areas and the use of 
their names as appellations of origin on wine labels and in wine 
advertisements. Title 27 CFR part 9, American Viticultural Areas, 
contains the list of approved viticultural areas.

Definition

    Title 27 CFR, section 4.25(e)(1), defines an American viticultural 
area as a delimited grape-growing region distinguishable by geographic 
features whose boundary has been delineated in subpart C of part 9. The 
establishment of viticultural areas allows the identification of 
regions where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristics of 
the wine is essentially attributable to its geographic origin. We 
believe that the establishment of viticultural areas allows wineries to 
describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and 
helps consumers identify the wines they purchase. Establishment of a 
viticultural area is neither an approval nor endorsement by TTB of the 
wine produced there.

Requirements

    Section 4.25a(e)(2) outlines the procedure for proposing an 
American viticultural area. Anyone interested may petition TTB to 
establish a grape-growing region as a viticultural area. The petition 
must include--
    [sbull] Evidence that the proposed viticultural area is locally 
and/or nationally known by the name specified in the petition;
    [sbull] Historical or current evidence that the boundaries of the 
proposed viticultural area are as specified in the petition;
    [sbull] Evidence that the proposed area's growing conditions, such 
as climate, soils, elevation, physical features, etc., distinguish it 
from surrounding areas;
    [sbull] A description of the proposed viticultural area's specific 
boundaries, based on features found on maps approved by the United 
States Geological Survey (USGS); and
    [sbull] A copy of the appropriate USGS-approved map(s) with the 
boundaries prominently marked.

Impact on Current Wine Labels

    With this viticultural area's establishment, bottlers who use brand 
names like Bennett Valley may be affected. If you fall in this 
category, you must ensure that your existing products are eligible to 
use the name of the viticultural area as an appellation of origin. For 
a wine to be eligible, at least 85 percent of the grapes in the wine 
must have been grown within the viticultural area.
    If the wine is not eligible for the appellation, you must change 
the brand name and obtain approval of a new label. Different rules 
apply if you label a wine in this category with a brand name traceable 
to a label approved prior

[[Page 61746]]

to July 7, 1986. See 27 CFR 4.39(i) for details. Additionally, if you 
use the viticultural area name on a wine label in a context other than 
appellation of origin, the general prohibitions against misleading 
representation in part 4 of the regulations apply.

Homeland Security Act of 2002

    Effective January 24, 2003, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
divided the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) into two new 
agencies, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in the 
Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms, and Explosives in the Department of Justice. Regulation of 
alcohol beverage labels, including viticultural area designations, is 
the responsibility of the new TTB. References to ATF and TTB in this 
document reflect the time frame, before or after January 24, 2003, of 
the viticultural area establishment process.

Bennett Valley Petition

    ATF received a petition from Matanzas Creek Winery of Santa Rosa, 
California, proposing a new viticultural area to be called ``Bennett 
Valley.'' The 8,140-acre viticultural area currently has 650 acres of 
planted vineyards. It is located in Sonoma County, California, just 
southeast of the city of Santa Rosa and approximately 45 miles 
northeast of San Francisco. The Bennett Valley viticultural area is 
entirely within the North Coast viticultural area, is almost completely 
within the Sonoma Valley viticultural area, and has a small 281-acre 
overlap into the Sonoma Coast viticultural area to the west. It also 
partially overlaps the Sonoma Mountain viticultural area, which is 
entirely within the larger Sonoma Valley viticultural area.
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area is about 5.5 miles long, 
northwest to southeast, 3.15 miles across at its widest point, and 
resembles the shape of a downward-pointing bullet. The floor of Bennett 
Valley runs the petitioned area's length, and Bennett Valley Road 
meanders from its northwest to southeast boundaries. The Bennett Valley 
viticultural area, including the surrounding hills and mountains, 
comprises the Matanzas Creek watershed. This creek flows west into the 
Russian River drainage system and eventually to the Pacific Ocean. 
Differences in topography, soils, and climate distinguish the Bennett 
Valley viticultural area from the surrounding areas.

Name Evidence

    The area is locally known as Bennett Valley. It is named after 
James N. Bennett, an 1849 immigrant settler who arrived by wagon train. 
His arrival coincided with the 1849 Gold Rush that brought settlers to 
California, helping Bennett Valley grow as an agricultural region known 
for grapes, apples, hay, wheat, oats, barley, and livestock. The 
Bennett Valley Grange Hall was built in 1873 and it still stands on 
Grange Road in Bennett Valley, as noted on the USGS Santa Rosa 
quadrangle map. An excerpt from the 1877 ``Historical Atlas Map of 
Sonoma County'' states that if Bennett Valley ``has any specialty, it 
is for fruit and grape culture.''
    Evidence for the current use of the Bennett Valley name includes 
references from a book by Don Edwards, ``Making the Most of Sonoma 
County, A California Guide,'' which states, ``Bennett Valley--squeezed 
between Taylor Mountain and the Sonoma Mountains on the west, Bennett 
Peak (Yulupa to the Indians) and Bennett Ridge to the east--has been 
ranching and farming country since the days when Missourian William 
Bennett settled here.'' The Bennett Valley Homeowner's Association's 
web site includes a boundary description similar to that of the Bennett 
Valley viticultural area. The Sonoma County telephone book has 24 
business listings using the Bennett Valley name, including the Bennett 
Valley Union School District. The Bennett Valley School is identified 
on the USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle map just inside the area's northwest 
boundary line. The Sonoma County government's Bennett Valley Area Plan 
includes all but the northern-most portion of the viticultural area.

Boundary Evidence

    The Bennett Valley viticultural area's boundaries are based on 
historical and current viticulture, the physical limits of the Matanzas 
Creek watershed, and the area's growing conditions, including its soil, 
terrain, and a unique microclimate with a strong coastal influence in a 
sheltered, inland location. Historically, 24 grape growers are linked 
with Bennett Valley agriculture. In 1862, early settler Isaac DeTurk 
planted a 30-acre vineyard at the base of Bennett Mountain. By 1878 he 
was producing 100,000 gallons of wine from his own and purchased grapes 
at his winery located within this viticultural area on Grange and 
Bennett Valley roads.
    Modern accounts indicate that, around the turn of the century, 
phylloxera disease killed some of Bennett Valley's estimated 2,000 
vineyard acres, while Prohibition ended the balance of the Valley's 
wine grape industry. A resurgence of wine grape growing in Bennett 
Valley started in 1975 when the Matanzas Creek Winery planted 20 acres 
of grapes, and the Valley now has approximately 650 vineyard-acres.
Physical Features
    Bennett Valley is surrounded on three sides by the Sonoma Mountain 
Range and on the north side by the city of Santa Rosa. The mountainous 
boundaries, generally defined by ridgelines, indicate the outer limits 
of the Matanzas Creek watershed. Taylor and Bennett Mountains provide 
anchors for the area's western and eastern boundary, respectively, 
while the 1,600-foot elevation line on Sonoma Mountain defines the 
southern boundary. Elevations within the area range from 250 to 1,850 
feet, with most vineyards between the 500- and 600-foot level.
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area boundary starts at Taylor 
Mountain's peak and continues straight northeast, coinciding with a 
portion of the Sonoma Valley viticultural area boundary line. The lower 
northern elevations open to the Santa Rosa Valley and the city of Santa 
Rosa, where, at the northernmost point, the boundary line turns 
southeast at a 65-degree angle. The northeastern and eastern 
boundaries, primarily a series of straight lines connecting elevation 
points, follow the ridgelines through the peak of Bennett Mountain that 
outline the eastern side of the Matanzas Creek watershed.
    The Bennett Valley area's southern boundary follows the 1,600-foot 
elevation line along Sonoma Mountain's north side and then a westerly 
straight line to a 900-foot elevation point. The southwestern boundary 
uses intersections and markers, within the Matanzas Creek watershed, to 
close the boundary line at Taylor Mountain. Crane Canyon, on the area's 
southwestern side, provides an opening in the mountains for the cooling 
coastal fogs and breezes from the Pacific coast, which moderate the 
Bennett Valley's climate.

Growing Conditions

Soils
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area's soils vary from the 
surrounding areas, due to the different composition percentages of its 
predominant Goulding-Toomes-Guenoc Association. There are differences 
in the distribution of Spreckels, Laniger, Haire, and Red Hill clay 
loam soils between the Bennett Valley viticultural area and nearby

[[Page 61747]]

portions of the Sonoma Valley viticultural area. Soils in the Sonoma 
Mountain viticultural area, other than the overlapping portion, vary 
from those within the Bennett Valley area.
    The foothills soils, comprised primarily of the Goulding-Toomes-
Guenoc Association, are of a volcanic origin that include lava flows, 
tuff beds, sandstone, gravel, and some conglomerate. The lower slopes 
and valley floor soils have more variety, including some of alluvial 
origin. The distribution of Spreckels loam, a well-drained loam with 
clay subsoil is about 24 percent in the Bennett Valley area, 27 percent 
in the Sonoma Mountain viticultural area, and almost 42 percent in the 
common area that overlaps the two areas.
Climate
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area has a unique microclimate, 
resulting from its sheltered inland location and access to cooling 
coastal fogs and breezes. The broad and tall Sonoma Mountain diverts 
the foggy, south-to-north coastal breezes of the Petaluma gap to the 
north and into the Crane Canyon gap. This gap, between Sonoma Mountain 
and Taylor Mountain, funnels the coastal fog and winds east into the 
Bennett Valley. Rainfall amounts in the Bennett Valley area are 17 to 
25 percent higher than in the areas to the immediate north and east. 
Valley residents indicate that rainfall amounts vary with elevation and 
proximity to the mountains and wind patterns.

Overlaps With the Sonoma Mountain and Sonoma Coast Viticultural Areas

    The Bennett Valley area is almost entirely within the Sonoma Valley 
viticultural area. The Sonoma Mountain viticultural area, which is 
totally within the larger Sonoma Valley viticultural area, overlaps 
13.1 percent of the Bennett Valley area. A small part, 3.4 percent, of 
the Bennett Valley viticultural area overlaps into the Sonoma Coast 
viticultural area. The Sonoma Coast and the interior Sonoma Valley 
viticultural areas, both within the larger North Coast viticultural 
area, share a common boundary line along Sonoma Valley's western 
border. This common boundary line is the site of the boundary's small 
overlap into the Sonoma Coast area.
    The following table summarizes the 8,140-acre Bennett Valley 
viticultural area's overlaps with other, established viticultural 
areas:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Percent of the
                                     Acres within the    Bennett Valley
         Viticultural area            Bennett Valley    area in overlap
                                           area            (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonoma Valley only................              6,796               83.5
Sonoma Mountain (within Sonoma                  1,063               13.1
 Valley area).....................
                                   --------------------
    Total within Sonoma Valley....              7,859               96.6
Sonoma Coast......................                281                3.4
                                   --------------------
        Grand Total...............              8,140              100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonoma Valley Viticultural Area (27 CFR 9.29)
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area is primarily within the Sonoma 
Valley viticultural area. The Bennett Valley area occupies 7,859 acres, 
or approximately 7 percent, of the larger Sonoma Valley viticultural 
area's acreage. The Sonoma Valley viticultural area petition included 
the Bennett Valley due to its similar soil and climate. The Sonoma 
Mountain viticultural area is totally within, and located in the 
western portion of, the Sonoma Valley viticultural area.
Sonoma Mountain Viticultural Area (27 CFR 9.102)
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area overlaps 1,063 acres (13.1 
percent of its territory) of the Sonoma Mountain viticultural area, 
which is itself totally within the Sonoma Valley viticultural area. The 
overlap is in the southeast corner of the Bennett Valley area and the 
northwestern portion of the Sonoma Mountain area. The overlap is seen 
on the Glen Ellen and Kenwood USGS maps in Sections 11 through 14, T6N, 
R7W. The overlap is mainly that portion of the Bennett Valley 
viticultural area north of the 1,600-foot elevation line on Sonoma 
Mountain in Sections 13, 14, and 23, and the land east of the common 
line between Sections 15 and 14, as shown on the Glen Ellen map. The 
northern limit of the overlap is the 800-foot elevation line from its 
southern most intersection with the common line between Sections 10 and 
11 to its intersection with Bennett Valley Road, as shown on the 
Kenwood map.
    The overlap area between the Bennett Valley and the Sonoma Mountain 
viticultural areas contains common geographic features, including the 
Matanzas Creek watershed, similar vineyard elevations, and the 
``thermal belt'' phenomenon. This thermal phenomenon drains cold air 
and fog from the upper mountain slopes to the lower elevations, which 
moderates temperatures at the lower levels. The overlapping area is 
within the Crane Canyon wind gap range, which delivers the Pacific 
Ocean's cooling marine influence to the Bennett Valley area.
    Strong soil similarities, within the Bennett Valley and Sonoma 
Mountain overlapping boundary area, include Goulding clay loam that 
covers 30.2 percent of the Bennett Valley area, 33.4 percent of this 
overlapping area, and from 7.4 to 49.8 percent of other sections of 
Sonoma Valley viticultural areas. Goulding cobbly clay loam covers 18.5 
percent of the Bennett Valley area, 19.0 percent of the Sonoma Mountain 
overlap, and covers 10.8 to 43.1 percent of other areas.
    Several Sonoma Mountain area grape growers state that diverse 
growing conditions exist on different sides, and at various elevations, 
on Sonoma Mountain. Specifically, they explain that the overlapping 
area benefits from the coastal influence and wind, which contrasts to 
the protected, warmer, eastern side of the mountain.
Sonoma Coast Viticultural Area (27 CFR 9.116)
    The Bennett Valley viticultural area overlaps approximately 281 
acres (3.4 percent of its territory) of the established Sonoma Coast 
viticultural area. This overlapping area is in two portions on the 
Bennett Valley's west boundary side. The first is located north of 
Crane Canyon Road and can be found in Sections 9 and 8, T6N, R7W, on 
the Cotati and Santa Rosa USGS maps. The second is located in Sections 
15 and 16,

[[Page 61748]]

T6N, R7W, on the Cotati map. This section of the Sonoma Valley and 
Sonoma Coast viticultural areas common boundary line spans a remote 
section of the Sonoma Mountains, where determining the exact limits of 
the Matanzas Creek watershed might have challenged previous 
viticultural area petitioners in drawing boundary lines.
    The original intent of the Bennett Valley viticultural area 
petitioners was to follow the Sonoma Valley area's western border and 
not overlap into the Sonoma Coast viticultural area. However, in the 
overlap north of Crane Canyon Road, the petitioners discovered that the 
former George N. Whitaker vineyard, a historically significant Bennett 
Valley vineyard, straddles the common boundary line between the Sonoma 
Coast and Sonoma Valley viticultural areas. The vineyard, and the 
immediately surrounding land, is similar to the Bennett Valley 
viticultural area due to its drainage into the Matanzas Creek 
watershed, its direct receipt of the cooling marine influence from the 
Crane Canyon gap, and terrain and soils that are consistent with 
Bennett Valley viticultural area. To avoid again dividing this vineyard 
between two viticultural areas, the petitioners extended their boundary 
line about a quarter-mile west into the Sonoma Coast viticultural area, 
creating the small, 281-acre overlap.
    The terrain, soils, and microclimate of this Sonoma Coast overlap 
are consistent with the Bennett Valley viticultural area. The area is 
totally within the Matanzas Creek watershed and on the Sonoma Valley 
side of the dividing ridge. The elevations, from 680 to 960 feet, are 
consistent with the surrounding Bennett Valley areas. The Goulding 
soils predominate the overlapping area and are similar to the rest of 
the Bennett Valley area. The Crane Canyon gap gives this overlap area 
the same cooling marine influence as the rest of the Bennett Valley 
viticultural area.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

    ATF published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the 
establishment of the Bennett Valley viticultural area in the November 
22, 2002, Federal Register as Notice No. 963 (67 FR 70352). In that 
notice, ATF requested comments by January 21, 2003, from all interested 
persons. No comments were received concerning the establishment of the 
Bennett Valley viticultural area. Therefore, under the provisions of 
the Federal Alcohol Administration Act and our regulations, we accept 
the petition and establish the Bennett Valley viticultural area in 
Sonoma County, California.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Paperwork Reduction Act

    We propose no requirement to collect information. Therefore, the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, and 
its implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, do not apply.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that this regulation will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This 
regulation imposes no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 
administrative requirement. Any benefit derived from the use of a 
viticultural area name would be the result of a proprietor's efforts 
and consumer acceptance of wines from that area. Therefore, no 
regulatory flexibility analysis is required.

Executive Order 12866

    This rule is not a significant regulatory action as defined by 
Executive Order 12866, 58 FR 51735. Therefore, it requires no 
regulatory assessment.

Drafting Information

    The principal author of this document is N.A. Sutton (Oregon), 
Regulations and Procedures Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 
Bureau.

List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9

    Wine.

Authority and Issuance

0
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, we amend title 27, Code of 
Federal Regulations, part 9, American Viticultural Areas, as follows:

PART 9--AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 9 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 27 U.S.C. 205.

Subpart C--Approved American Viticultural Areas

0
2. Subpart C is amended by adding Sec.  9.142 to read as follows:


Sec.  9.142  Bennett Valley.

    (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this 
section is ``Bennett Valley''.
    (b) Approved maps. The appropriate maps for determining the 
boundary of the Bennett Valley viticultural area are four 1:24,000 
scale USGS topographic maps. They are titled:
    (1) Santa Rosa Quadrangle, CA--Sonoma Co. 1994
    (2) Kenwood Quadrangle, CA 1954, photorevised 1980
    (3) Glen Ellen Quadrangle, CA--Sonoma Co. 1954, photorevised 1980
    (4) Cotati Quadrangle, CA--Sonoma Co. 1954, photorevised 1980
    (c) Boundary. The Bennett Valley viticultural area is entirely 
within Sonoma County, California, and is located northwest of the peak 
of Sonoma Mountain and southeast of the city of Santa Rosa.
    (1) Beginning at the peak of Taylor Mountain (BM 1401), Section 6, 
T6N, R7W, proceed straight northeast to the intersection of the common 
line between Sections 31 and 32 and the 560-foot elevation line, T7N, 
R7W; continue straight northeast at the same angle, crossing the 
Bennett Valley Golf Course and Matanzas Creek, to a point on the 500-
foot elevation line approximately 400 feet north of the southern 
boundary of Section 20, T7N, R7W (Santa Rosa Quadrangle); then
    (2) Proceed straight southeast to the center peak of the three 
unnamed peaks above the 1,100-foot elevation line, located 
approximately 1,600 feet southwest of Hunter Spring, in Section 28, 
T7N, R7W (Santa Rosa Quadrangle); then
    (3) Proceed straight east-southeast to a 1,527-foot peak in the 
southeast corner of Section 28, T7N, R7W (Santa Rosa Quadrangle); then
    (4) Proceed straight southeast to Bennett Mountain's 1,887-foot 
peak, Section 34, T7N, R7W (Kenwood Quadrangle); then
    (5) Proceed straight southeast to the 1,309-foot peak located 
northwest of a water tank and approximately 400 feet north of the 
southern boundary of Section 35, T7N, R7W (Kenwood Quadrangle); then
    (6) Proceed straight south-southeast to the 978-foot peak in the 
northeast quadrant of Section 11, T6N, R7W, and continue straight 
south-southeast approximately 600 feet to the ``T'' intersection of two 
unimproved roads located on the common boundary line between Sections 
11 and 12, T6N, R7W (Kenwood Quadrangle); then
    (7) Proceed south along the north-south unimproved road to its 
intersection with Sonoma Mountain Road, Section 13, T6N, R7W, and 
continue straight south to the 1,600-foot elevation line, Section 13, 
T6N, R7W (Glen Ellen Quadrangle); then
    (8) Proceed west along the meandering 1,600-foot elevation line to 
the point where it crosses the common line between Sections 22 and 23, 
T6N, R7W (Glen Ellen Quadrangle); then

[[Page 61749]]

    (9) Proceed straight west-northwest to the point where the 900-foot 
elevation line crosses the common line between Sections 15 and 16, T6N, 
R7W, approximately 500 feet north of the southwest corner of Section 15 
(Cotati Quadrangle); then
    (10) Proceed straight northwest to the intersection of Grange Road 
(known as Crane Canyon Road to the west) and the southern boundary of 
Section 9, and continue straight west along that section boundary to 
the southwest corner of Section 9, T6N, R7W (Cotati Quadrangle); then
    (11) Proceed straight north-northwest to the 961-foot peak on the 
east side of Section 8, T6N, R7W (Santa Rosa Quadrangle); and then
    (12) Proceed straight northwest to the peak of Taylor Mountain, 
returning to the point of beginning.

    Signed: September 17, 2003.
Arthur J. Libertucci,
Administrator.
    Dated: October 6, 2003.
Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy).
[FR Doc. 03-27316 Filed 10-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-31-P