There's been a bit of discussion lately in the industry about AVAs. Specifically, the latest proposed changes in rules for AVAs put forth by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the federal government. Strangely, the TTB seems to be playing a more pro-active role than they have in a long time. Up until now, requests for new AVAs have pretty much gone through the approval process unchecked. Any problems or conflicts, for example between AVA names and pre-existing winery names, have been resolved by the industry.

But recently the pace of proposed new AVAs has accelerated, and conflicts are not being worked out in the industry. A good example of this is in the Paso Robles area, where one proposal wants to create 2 new AVAs, while a competing proposal seeks to create something like 9 new AVAs. So is the wine industry out of control? Do all these AVAs really represent significantly different growing regions -- in climate, soil, varietals planted or other factors -- or are they just marketing labels that help wineries charge more for their top-end wines?

What do you look for when buying wine? Do you depend only on your personal tasting experiences from the tasting rooms? Or suggestions from friends? Do you look at the winery first, or the AVA where the wine is from? Let us know!