Jason Haas
I enjoyed this #TablasCreek blog — both the research for it and the writing of it — as much as I have any in a long time. The Rocks District is a remarkable AVA, making distinctive wines, and yet most of the producers there can’t use the AVA name on their labels because they make their wines 15 minutes away, across a state line. https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2024/05/you-arent-hearing-as-much-about-the-rocks-district-as-you-should-be-youll-likely-be-surprised-why.html
May 10, 2024 at 7:29pmWeb
Show threadJon BjorkMay 11, 2024
@jasonchaas Isn't there at least one AVA that crosses state's lines? Is The Rocks District close enough to the border such that they could expand across the border? That's assuming the climate/geography supports extending it, of course. I agree that this feels petty. And I can only think of Franzia and Caymus as generating issues with AVAs.
Show threadJason HaasMay 11, 2024
@JonOfLodi there are a handful that cross state lines, including the Walla Walla AVA that the Rocks is nested within. But expanding the AVA just to bring it across state lines, when doing so would require including land that doesn’t match the rest of the terroir, doesn’t seem like the right approach.
Show threadJon BjorkMay 11, 2024
@jasonchaas I agree that we wouldn't want to circumvent the whole purpose of the AVAs just to solve the governmental jurisdiction boundaries. I forgot that The Rocks is a sub-AVA.