Wine 101: What is an AVA?
The Pour
Did you know that every state in the U.S. produces wine? Even Hawaii, and I’m not just talking about sparkling pineapple wine, which is delicious. People always seem to be surprised to learn that vinters in Colorado — and other states like Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico and Michigan — are making wine, and good wine at that.
Now, that’s not to say every one of the 50 states has an American Viticultural Area (AVA), at least not yet. In fact, only 35 of the 50 have an AVA, but I think we’ll start to see more AVAs as the climate continues to change, but that’s another column. For now, let’s talk about what an AVA is, why you should care and how to use them to your advantage.
What is an AVA?
Every country has its own way of categorizing its wine regions. In the United States, we use the American Viticultural Area (AVA) classification. AVAs are federally designated wine regions in the US, defined and approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). They are designated based on specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish the area from surrounding regions, and how those features affect grape growing. To make things more confusing, within an AVA, you can have sub-AVAs, such as the Oakville District, which is within the Napa Valley AVA, and the Russian River Valley AVA in the Sonoma County AVA. Sometimes these sub-AVAs produce even higher-quality wines.
One way to think of an AVA is as a super exclusive, invite-only club for grape growing regions. The TTB is the bouncer, deciding which areas get to join the club based on their unique geographic and climatic features. It’s like a VIP section for US wines, and you can see if they’re in the club or not just by looking at their wine labels.
Unlike in Europe, the AVA classification is not based on political or historical boundaries and do not have regulations as to what grapes can be produced as well as growing and aging requirements. In the US it’s based on the environmental conditions that influence grape cultivation. This means, AVAs can cross state lines; there are currently 17 AVAs that cross state lines.
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The AVA system did not start in the US until June 20, 1980, when the TTB designated the country’s first official wine region. It wasn’t Napa Valley or Sonoma but rather Augusta, Missouri, which has a rich winemaking history dating back to before California was even a state. As of July 2024, there are 273 established AVAs in 35 of the 50 states, with California having the most at 152. Missouri is home to only five AVAs.
Why care about AVAs?
I’ve been to countless wineries where I would get super excited about how this winery — in an unknown region — was producing wines equivalent to Napa Valley, only to learn they were sourcing — buying — their grapes from a vineyard in California or elsewhere. Talk about a total let down. Having the AVA label on a wine is extremely helpful in knowing what and where you’re sipping. It’s like having a wine GPS — the AVA tells you exactly where your sip is coming from. So, if you’re a fan of a particular region, the AVA is your handy wine navigator just right there on the label.
For a wine to don an AVA name, at least 85 percent of the grapes have to come from within that region. Some states have even stricter requirements, like Oregon, which mandates 100 percent Oregon grapes for any wine labeled with an Oregon place name, and at least 95 percent grapes from the specific named AVA or region. If a wine label says it’s from the Willamette Valley AVA, then you know at least 95 percent of the fruit is from Willamette Valley and the rest is from somewhere else in Oregon.
How to Use AVAs to your advantage
Knowing the AVA for a wine you’re going to buy can help you identify wines you are likely to enjoy based on your familiarity with and preferences for that particular growing region and/or grape varieties from that area. The AVA designation provides transparency about the origin of the grapes rather than leaving room for potential misrepresentation.
So, the next time you’re perusing the wine aisle, keep an eye out for AVAs on the wine labels. It’s your ticket to sipping wines that truly reflect their grape-growing roots.
Our local Colorado AVAs
Wine is produced throughout the state but there are only two official AVA’s in Colorado … so far. The Grand Valley AVA runs along the Colorado River between Palisade and Grand Junction. The West Elks AVA runs along the North Fork of the Gunnison River between Paonia and Hotchkiss. The wine regions are fairly close to one another — and are about two hours from Vail Valley — making them perfect weekend escapes.
