[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12878-12881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4785]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
27 CFR Part 9
[T.D. TTB-67; Re: Notice No. 70]
RIN 1513-AB21
Expansion of the San Francisco Bay Viticultural Area (2005R-413P)
AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This Treasury decision expands the San Francisco Bay
viticultural area in northern California. The expansion adds 88 square
miles to the viticultural area to its north in Solano County,
California. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better
describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better
identify wines they may purchase.
DATES: Effective Date: April 10, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: N.A. Sutton, Regulations and Rulings
Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 925 Lakeville St.,
No. 158, Petaluma, California 94952; telephone 415-271-1254.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background on Viticultural Areas
TTB Authority
Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act),
27 U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe
regulations for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, and malt
beverages. The FAA Act provides that these regulations should, among
other things, prohibit consumer deception and the use of misleading
statements on labels, and ensure that labels provide the consumer with
adequate information as to the identity and quality of the product. The
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) administers the
regulations promulgated under the FAA Act.
Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 4) allows the
establishment of definitive viticultural areas and the use of their
names as appellations of origin on wine labels and in wine
advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 9) contains
the list of approved viticultural areas.
Definition
Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i))
defines a viticultural area for American wine as a delimited grape-
growing region distinguishable by geographical features, the boundaries
of which have been recognized and defined in part 9 of the regulations.
These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given
quality, reputation, or other characteristic of a wine made from grapes
grown in an area to its geographical origin. The establishment of
viticultural areas allows vintners to describe more accurately the
origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify
wines they may purchase. Establishment of a viticultural area is
neither an approval nor an endorsement by TTB of the wine produced in
that area.
Requirements
Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB regulations outlines the procedure
for proposing an American viticultural area and provides that any
interested party may petition TTB to establish a grape-growing region
as a viticultural area. Petitioners may use the same procedure to
request changes involving existing viticultural areas. Section 9.3(b)
of the TTB regulations requires the petition to include--
Evidence that the proposed viticultural area is locally
and/or nationally known by the name specified in the petition;
Historical or current evidence that supports setting the
boundary of the proposed viticultural area as the petition specifies;
Evidence relating to the geographical features, such as
climate, soils, elevation, and physical features, that distinguish the
proposed viticultural area from surrounding areas;
A description of the specific boundary of the proposed
viticultural area, based on features found on United States Geological
Survey (USGS) maps; and
A copy of the appropriate USGS map(s) with the proposed
viticultural area's boundary prominently marked.
San Francisco Bay and Central Coast Expansion Petition
Hestan Vineyards, LLC, of Vallejo, California, represented by
Holland and Knight LLP of San Francisco, California, submitted a
petition for an 88-square-mile boundary expansion that includes
portions of Solano County to the north of the Carquinez Strait, and
would apply to both the established San Francisco Bay viticultural area
(27 CFR 9.157) and the established Central Coast viticultural area (27
CFR 9.75). After reviewing the petition, TTB determined that the
evidence submitted in support of the proposed expansion of the San
Francisco Bay viticultural area merited rulemaking action. TTB also
determined that there was insufficient documentation to proceed with
rulemaking for the proposed expansion of the Central Coast viticultural
area. Accordingly, TTB notified the petitioner of these determinations,
and the petitioner agreed to proceed only with the portion of the
petition for the expansion of the San Francisco Bay viticultural area.
San Francisco Bay Expansion Petition Evidence
The petitioner submitted the following information in support of
the expansion of the San Francisco Bay viticultural area.
The petition states that the San Francisco Bay area is a loosely
bound region that includes other bodies of water, including San Pablo
Bay, the Carquinez Strait, and Suisun Bay. USGS maps of the region show
that San Francisco Bay joins San Pablo Bay to its north. Also, the
Carquinez Strait
[[Page 12879]]
connects San Pablo Bay on the west with Suisun Bay on the east.
The petition states that the area covered by the proposed
expansion, which is located adjacent to the north shores of San Pablo
Bay and the Carquinez Strait, is an area historically, economically,
and socially considered to be a part of the San Francisco Bay region.
With the exception of the 4,480 acres, or 7 square miles, of the
Carquinez Strait waterway, the petition explains, the entire proposed
expansion area is on land in western Solano County.
Name Evidence
As documented in the petition, a number of Government agencies and
interest groups provide services to the nine counties in the recognized
San Francisco Bay area, including the proposed expansion area in Solano
County. The Bay Area Council's Web site as of April 12, 2005, lists its
nine counties, which include Solano, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa
Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin. Other government
agencies and interest groups using the same nine-county San Francisco
Bay area parameter include the Association of Bay Area Governments, Bay
Area Water Transit Authority, Bay Area Marketing Partnership, and Bay
Area Economic Forum.
The petition documents that the City of Vallejo, in southwest
Solano County and within the proposed San Francisco Bay expansion area,
serves as a key ferry transportation hub into the City of San
Francisco. The Vallejo ferry system, as explained on the Bay Area Water
Transit Authority Web site, carries thousands of passengers each week
from Solano County to the City of San Francisco and back.
In 1987, the State of California legislature passed a bill
establishing the ``San Francisco Bay Trail,'' as noted on page 160 of
San Francisco Bay: Portrait of an Estuary, by John Hart, and published
by the University of California Press in 2003. Mr. Hart states that
this trail system includes the Vallejo area of Solano County, which the
petition notes is a part of the proposed San Francisco Bay viticultural
expansion area.
Boundary Evidence
The proposed San Francisco Bay viticultural area expansion area
comprises an 88-square-mile area that lies northeast of the City of San
Francisco and San Francisco Bay, the petition explains. The proposed
boundary line of the expansion area includes portions of San Pablo
Bay's shoreline, the Solano and Napa Counties boundary line, a railroad
track, and an interstate highway.
The proposed expansion area's northern boundary line follows the
dividing line between Napa and Solano Counties and the Southern Pacific
railroad track between Creston and Cordelia, as found on the USGS
Cuttings Wharf and Cordelia maps. TTB notes that the proposed expansion
area boundary line coincides with various portions of the established
boundaries for the North Coast (27 CFR 9.30), Napa Valley (27 CFR
9.23), and Solano County Green Valley (27 CFR 9.44) viticultural areas.
Distinguishing Features
David G. Howell, Ph.D., Geologist at Stanford University in Palo
Alto, California, Deborah Harden, Ph.D., Geologist at San Jose State
University, San Jose, California, and Robert Bornstein, Ph.D.,
Meteorologist at San Jose State University, San Jose, California,
combined efforts to provide petition evidence and documentation
substantiating the proposed northerly expansion of the San Francisco
Bay viticultural area. The petition addresses the commonality of
distinguishing features shared by the established San Francisco Bay
viticultural area and the proposed northern expansion area.
Geology
The petition explains the similarity of geology between the
northern portion of the San Francisco Bay viticultural area and the
proposed viticultural area expansion into Solano County. According to
the petition, the Franklin Ridge landform of Contra Costa County,
located in the northern most portion of the established San Francisco
Bay viticultural area, continues northward into the proposed expansion
area in Solano County. Franklin Ridge becomes known as Sulphur Mountain
Ridge in Solano County, with the two ridges joining beneath the
Carquinez Strait.
According to the petition, the north-south linkage between the
established San Francisco Bay viticultural area and the proposed
expansion area is based on the continuity of the underlying geology.
The bedrock formations, earthquake faults, landforms, and soils of the
northern San Francisco Bay viticultural area continue north into the
proposed expansion area.
The petition identifies the geological bedrock core of the proposed
expansion area as Cretaceous sandstone and shale. This body of rock,
the petition explains, extends northward from the Mount Diablo region
in Contra Costa County into the proposed expansion in Solano County.
Soil
The two general categories of soils in the proposed expansion area
are those formed in salt marshes and those formed in sandstone over
shale bedrock on uplands, as described in the Soil Survey of Solano
County, California, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in
1977.
The Solano County general soil map documents that soils in salt
marshes dominate in areas at a low elevation south of Vallejo. Also,
the map shows that some of the soils in the predominant Joice, Reyes,
Suisun, and Tamba soil series are mucks or peaty mucks.
The soils on uplands in Solano County are common to other parts of
the San Francisco Bay viticultural area, including areas of Alameda and
Santa Clara Counties, the petition explains. The most prevalent soils
on uplands are in the Dibble and Los Osos series, and are moderately
deep soils formed in weathered sandstone and shale under climatic
conditions of seasonal soil moisture. The Altamont, Gaviota, and
Millsholm series are also on uplands, according to the petitioner; the
Rincon series are on alluvial fans.
Climate
The eastward and inland movement of marine air through the Golden
Gate Gap, the petition explains, dominates the climate of the land
areas adjacent to San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay and within the
established viticultural area boundaries. The Carquinez Strait joins
San Pablo Bay at the bay's southeast corner, according to USGS maps,
and receives the same marine air that cools the San Francisco and San
Pablo Bays.
According to the petition, the Carquinez Strait funnels the marine
air to both the north and south sides of its shoreline, according to
the petition. (TTB notes that the current San Francisco Bay
viticultural area's northern boundary line extends along the south
shoreline of the Carquinez Strait, following the Contra Costa County
northern boundary line to BM 15 on the Honker Bay USGS map.) The
proposed expansion area extends northward to include all the Carquinez
Strait and portions of Solano County, according to the written boundary
description and maps provided with the petition.
The current expansion petition provides evidence and documentation
that the marine air flow, with its cooling effect, travels north and
east from the
[[Page 12880]]
Golden Gate, into San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, the Carquinez
Strait, and to the proposed expansion area. Although the proposed
expansion area was not included in the original San Francisco Bay AVA
petition, since the filing of the original petition, additional
observation sites have become available that provide a more detailed
analysis of the air flow patterns in and around the Carquinez Strait.
Figures obtained from a new observation site that show the typical
summer afternoon flow pattern on both the north and south sides of the
Carquinez Strait clearly show that the Carquinez Strait is not the
northern boundary of the influence of the marine air that has entered
through the Golden Gate Gap.
The California Air Resources Board maps, submitted with the
petition, show that the marine influence extends both north and south
of the Carquinez Strait. A San Francisco Bay Air Quality Management
District map shows air flow through the Carquinez Strait on July 31,
2000, a typical summer day. The air flow pattern through the Carquinez
Strait brings the marine influence to the north, east, and south of the
waterway, according to the map. Another computerized map of the air
flow, also documented on July 31, 2000, shows the marine air entering
San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate Gap, then traveling through
San Pablo Bay, and continuing east through the Carquinez Strait, north
into Suisun Bay, and south into Livermore Valley.
The information submitted with the petition concludes that the
Carquinez Strait should not be considered the northernmost boundary of
the San Francisco Bay viticultural area. Marine air, which is a
significant distinguishing climatic characteristic of the San Francisco
Bay viticultural area and region, is also significant in the proposed
expansion area, according to the petition.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Comments Received
TTB published Notice No. 70 regarding the proposed expansion to the
San Francisco Bay viticultural area in the Federal Register (71 FR
70472) on December 5, 2006. We received one comment in response to that
notice. That comment supported the expansion of the San Francisco Bay
viticultural area.
TTB Finding
After careful review of the petition and the comment received, TTB
finds that the evidence submitted supports the expansion of the San
Francisco Bay viticultural area as requested in the petition.
Therefore, under the authority of the Federal Alcohol Administration
Act and part 4 of our regulations, we amend our regulations to expand
the San Francisco Bay viticultural area in northern California,
effective 30 days from the publication date of this document.
Boundary Description
See the modified narrative boundary description reflecting the
expanded viticultural area in the regulatory text amendment published
at the end of this document.
Maps
The petitioner provided the required maps pertaining to the
expansion, and we list them below in the amended regulatory text.
Impact on Current Wine Labels
The expansion of the San Francisco Bay viticultural area does not
affect any currently approved wine labels. The approval of this
expansion may allow additional vintners to use ``San Francisco Bay'' as
an appellation of origin on their wine labels. Part 4 of the TTB
regulations prohibits any label reference on a wine that indicates or
implies an origin other than the wine's true place of origin. For a
wine to be labeled with a viticultural area name or with a brand name
that includes a viticultural area name or other term identified as
viticulturally significant in part 9 of the TTB regulations, at least
85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the
area represented by that name or other term, and the wine must meet the
other conditions listed in 27 CFR 4.25(e)(3). Different rules apply if
a wine has a brand name containing a viticultural area name or other
viticulturally significant term that was used as a brand name on a
label approved before July 7, 1986. See 27 CFR 4.39(i)(2) for details.
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 is 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
N. A. Sutton of the Regulations and Rulings Division drafted this
notice.
List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9
Wine.
The Regulatory Amendment
0
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, we amend 27 CFR, chapter I,
part 9, 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. Section 9.157 is amended by revising the introductory text of
paragraph (b), removing the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph
(b)(42), replacing the period with a semicolon at the end of paragraph
(b)(43), adding new paragraphs (b)(44) through (b)(47), revising the
introductory text of paragraph (c), revising paragraph (c)(24),
redesignating paragraphs (c)(25) through (c)(38) as (c)(31) through
(c)(44), and adding new paragraphs (c)(25) through (c)(30), to read as
follows:
Sec. 9.157 San Francisco Bay.
* * * * *
(b) Approved Maps. The appropriate maps for determining the
boundary of the San Francisco Bay viticultural area are 47 1:24,000
Scale USGS topographic maps. They are titled:
* * * * *
(44) Cuttings Wharf, Calif.; 1949; Photorevised 1981;
(45) Sears Point, Calif.; 1951; Photorevised 1968;
(46) Cordelia, Calif.; 1951; Photorevised 1980; and
(47) Fairfield South, Calif.; 1949; Photorevised 1980.
(c) Boundary. The San Francisco Bay viticultural area is located
mainly within five counties, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara,
Alameda, and Contra Costa, which border the San Francisco Bay. The area
also includes portions of three other counties, Solano, Santa Cruz, and
San Benito, which are in the general vicinity of the greater San
Francisco Bay metropolitan area. The boundary of the San Francisco Bay
viticultural area is as described below.
* * * * *
[[Page 12881]]
(24) Then proceed west-southwest along the south shoreline of the
Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Strait to its intersection with Interstate
680 at the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and BM 66, T3N/R2W, on the Vine Hill
Quadrangle.
(25) Then proceed generally north following Interstate 680,
crossing over and back on the Benicia Quadrangle map and continuing
over the Fairfield South Quadrangle map, to its intersection with the
Southern Pacific railroad track at Cordelia, Section 12, T4N/R3W, on
the Cordelia Quadrangle map.
(26) Then proceed generally west along the Southern Pacific
railroad track to its intersection with the Napa and Solano Counties
boundary line in Jameson Canyon at Creston, Section 9, T4N/R3W, on the
Cordelia Quadrangle map.
(27) Then proceed generally south-southeast, followed by straight
west along the Napa and Solano Counties boundary line; continue
straight west, crossing over the Cuttings Wharf Quadrangle map, to its
intersection with the east shoreline of Sonoma Creek slough, which
coincides with the Highway 37 bridge on the Solano County side of the
creek, T4N/R5W, on the Sears Point Quadrangle.
(28) Then proceed generally southeast along the north and east
shorelines of San Pablo Bay, also known as the San Pablo Bay National
Wildlife Refuge, crossing over the Cuttings Wharf Quadrangle map, to
its intersection with the Breakwater line, located within the Vallejo
City boundary and 0.7 mile west-southwest of the beacon, T3N/R4W, on
the Mare Island Quadrangle.
(29) Then proceed straight south-southwest 1.2 miles to its
intersection with the San Pablo Bay shoreline at BM 14, west of Davis
Point, T3N/R4W, on the Mare Island Quadrangle.
(30) Then proceed generally south along the contiguous eastern
shorelines of San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay, crossing over the
Richmond and San Quentin Quadrangle maps, to its intersection with the
San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge on the Oakland West Quadrangle.
* * * * *
Signed: March 16, 2007.
John J. Manfreda,
Administrator.
Approved: November 16, 2007.
Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy).
Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the
Federal Register on March 6, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8-4785 Filed 3-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-31-P