Establishment of the Yucaipa Valley Viticultural Area

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY <SUBAGY>Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau</SUBAGY> <CFR>27 CFR Part 9</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. TTB-2022-0008; T.D. TTB-193; Ref: Notice No. 214]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1513-AC85</RIN> <SUBJECT>Establishment of the Yucaipa Valley Viticultural Area</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Treasury. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule; Treasury decision. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the 36,467-acre “Yucaipa Valley” American viticultural area (AVA) in San Bernardino County, California. The Yucaipa Valley viticultural area is not located within, nor does it contain, any other established viticultural area. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This final rule is effective May 28, 2024. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; phone 202-453-1039, ext. 175. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background on Viticultural Areas</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">TTB Authority</HD> 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 FAA Act pursuant to section 1111(d) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). The Secretary has delegated the functions and duties in the administration and enforcement of these provisions to the TTB Administrator through Treasury Order 120-01, dated December 10, 2013. Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 4) authorizes TTB to establish definitive viticultural areas and regulate 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) sets forth standards for the preparation and submission to TTB of petitions for the establishment or modification of American viticultural areas (AVAs) and lists the approved AVAs. <HD SOURCE="HD2">Definition</HD> 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 having distinguishing features as described in part 9 of the regulations and, once approved, a name and a delineated boundary codified 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 the wine's geographic origin. The establishment of AVAs allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify wines they may purchase. Establishment of an AVA is neither an approval nor an endorsement by TTB of the wine produced in that area. <HD SOURCE="HD2">Requirements</HD> Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(2)) outlines the procedure for proposing an AVA and allows any interested party to petition TTB to establish a grape-growing region as an AVA. Section 9.12 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 9.12) prescribes standards for petitions to establish or modify AVAs. Petitions to establish an AVA must include the following: • Evidence that the area within the proposed AVA boundary is nationally or locally known by the AVA name specified in the petition; • An explanation of the basis for defining the boundary of the proposed AVA; • A narrative description of the features of the proposed AVA affecting viticulture, such as climate, geology, soils, physical features, and elevation, that make the proposed AVA distinctive and distinguish it from adjacent areas outside the proposed AVA boundary; • The appropriate United States Geological Survey (USGS) map(s) showing the location of the proposed AVA, with the boundary of the proposed AVA clearly drawn thereon; and • A detailed narrative description of the proposed AVA boundary based on USGS map markings. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Yucaipa Valley AVA Petition</HD> TTB received a petition from the Yucaipa Valley Wine Alliance, proposing establishment of the “Yucaipa Valley” AVA. The proposed AVA is in San Bernardino County, California, and is not within any established AVA. The proposed AVA covers 36,467 acres and includes approximately 23 vineyards and two wineries. The petition identifies the distinguishing features of the proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA as its elevation and climate. The proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA is a region of rolling hills in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and includes the incorporated municipalities of Yucaipa and Calimesa and the unincorporated area of Oak Glen. Elevations within the proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA range from 2,000 to 4,600 feet. According to the petition, sunlight becomes more concentrated at high elevations. As a result, grapes receive a “tan,” which results in thicker skin than the same varietals grown at lower elevations. The petition states that thick skins contribute to the color and tannin levels of the resulting wine and protect developing grapes from the dramatic climate shifts that can occur in high altitude vineyards. By contrast, Yucaipa Ridge, which is located to the immediate north and northeast of the proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA, is a mountain range of steep slopes with elevations up to 2,000 feet higher than the proposed AVA. The region east of the proposed AVA has elevations similar to those within the proposed AVA but is not included in the proposed AVA because it is largely uninhabited and undeveloped, has few roads, is largely covered by a national forest that is not available for commercial viticulture, and does not have historical ties to the region known as the Yucaipa Valley. Cherry Valley and Beaumont are communities which extend from the southeast to the south of the proposed AVA and have elevations similar to those in the lower portions of the proposed AVA. However, these areas do not have the rolling hills found in the Yucaipa Valley. The San Timoteo Canyon extends from the southwest to the south of the proposed AVA and has elevations that are lower than those in the proposed AVA, ranging from 1,600 to 2,000 feet. To the west of the proposed AVA is the Redlands Valley, which also has lower elevations ranging from 1,100 to 2,000 feet. The petition described the climate of the proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA as a hot, dry climate suitable for growing grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Malbec, Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Petite Sirah. Within the city of Yucaipa, the average high temperature is 78.3 degrees Fahrenheit (F), and the average low temperature is 48.7 degrees F. August is typically the warmest month, with an average high of 97 degrees F, and December is typically the coolest month, with an average minimum temperature of 40 degrees F. The record high temperature in the city of Yucaipa is 114 degrees F, while the record low temperature is 11 degrees F. The city of Yucaipa receives an average cumulative rainfall of 4.14 inches during the growing season of April through October. The average amount of precipitation for the city of Yucaipa during the winter months, November through March, is substantially greater, 15.35 inches, with an average of one inch being snow. By contrast, the region to the west of the proposed AVA, is slightly warmer and drier, while the region to the north and northeast is cooler. The average high temperature in the city of Redlands, located west of the proposed AVA, is 79.6 degrees F, and the average low temperature is 50.5 degrees F. August is typically the warmest month in Redlands, with an average high of 96 degrees F, and December is typically the coolest month, with an average minimum temperature of 40 degrees F. The record high temperature in Redlands is 118 degrees F, and the record low temperature is 18 degrees F. Redlands receives an average of 10.86 inches of winter precipitation, but seldom receives snow due to its warmer winter temperatures. In the community of Forest Falls, located to the north and northeast of the proposed AVA, the average high temperature is 61.5 degrees F, and the average low temperature is 40.9 degrees F. August is typically the warmest month in Forest Falls, with an average high of 81 degrees F. The record high temperature is 106 degrees F, and the record low temperature is 5 degrees F. The petition did not include temperature data from the regions to the northwest, east, and south of the proposed Yucaipa Valley AVA but did note that the city of Beaumont, located south and southeast of the proposed AVA, receives an average winter precipitation amount very similar to that of the proposed AVA, although it seldom has any snow. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Comments Received</HD> TTB published Notice No. 214 in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on September 21, 2022 (87 FR 57657), proposing to establish the Yucaipa Valley AVA. In the notice, TTB summarized the evidence from the petition regarding the name, boundary, and distinguishing features for the proposed AVA. The notice also included information from the petition comparing the distinguishing features of the proposed AVA to th ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 26k characters. 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