5 Gallon Kegs, Label Approvals and You.
5 gallon kegs have become a popular way for wineries to get their product out into the marketplace, specifically the by-the-glass marketplace. I had a client contact me recently for assistance with a new label approval (COLA) for his upcoming bottling. I've filed these for him in the past but this year was the first time he'd decided to try out the 5 gallon keg route. He asked me if a label approval was required for them, and I honestly didn't have an answer for him right away. Read more
TTB Label Approval Search Advice From Eliot Ness
The TTB's website really does have a lot of good information. (If you know where to look) I myself can vouch for this firsthand as I've been viewing it as part of my profession since 1998. It has come a long way since then! Now they are going back to their roots by including a section titled, "Eliot Knows" which is basically a version of their FAQs page.
Eliot's latest information for the curious wine regulation searcher is about one of the TTB's sites, the Public COLA Registry. Read more
Teaching An Old Wine a New AVA.
A recent discussion came up on Facebook around the use of newly created AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) on wine labels made from vintages pre the AVA's existence. The discussion was around the recently created AVA of Coombsville in eastern Napa. The question that came up was would that be allowable under the TTB's labeling regulations? i.e. If you are about to bottle a 2009 wine and wanted to put Coombsville (which became an AVA in December 2011) as an AVA on the label could you do this? Read more