Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the 93,738-acre ``White Bluffs'' viticultural area in Franklin County, Washington. The proposed AVA is located entirely within the existing Columbia Valley AVA. 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. TTB invites comments on these proposals.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is amending certain of its regulations governing the labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages to address comments it received in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking, Notice No. 176, published on November 26, 2018. In this document, TTB is finalizing certain liberalizing and clarifying changes that were proposed, and that could be implemented quickly and provide industry members greater flexibility. TTB is also identifying certain other proposals that will not be adopted, including the proposal to define an ``oak barrel'' for purposes of aging distilled spirits, the proposal to require that statements of composition for distilled spirits specialty products list components in ``intermediate'' products and list distilled spirits and wines used in distilled spirits specialty products in order of predominance, and the proposal to adopt new policies on the use of cross-commodity terms. TTB continues to consider the remaining issues raised by comments it received that are not addressed in this document. TTB plans to address those issues in subsequent rulemaking documents. The regulatory amendments in this document will not require industry members to make changes to alcohol beverage labels or advertisements and instead will afford them additional flexibility to make certain changes if they wish.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the 156,389-acre ``Royal Slope'' viticultural area in Adams and Grant Counties, in Washington. The proposed viticultural area lies entirely within the existing Columbia Valley 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed addition to its regulations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 1,246 square-mile ``Eastern Connecticut Highlands'' viticultural area in all or portions of Hartford, New Haven, Tolland, Windham, New London, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut. The Eastern Connecticut Highlands viticultural area is not located within any other established viticultural area and does not overlap any other established AVA. 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.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the 815-acre ``Candy Mountain'' viticultural area in Benton County, Washington. TTB also proposes to expand the boundary of the existing 1,093-acre Yakima Valley viticultural area by approximately 72 acres in order to avoid a partial overlap with the proposed Candy Mountain viticultural area. Both the existing Yakima Valley AVA and the proposed Candy Mountain AVA are located entirely within the existing Columbia Valley AVA. 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. TTB invites comments on these proposals.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 215-square mile ``Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County'' viticultural area in Henderson County, North Carolina. The Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County viticultural area is not located within 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.

In this document, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) addresses numerous petitions requesting that TTB amend the regulations that govern distilled spirits containers to provide for additional authorized standards of fill. TTB is proposing to eliminate all but minimum and maximum standards of fill for distilled spirits containers and thus eliminate unnecessary regulatory requirements and provide consumers broader purchasing options. TTB welcomes comments on this proposed deregulation, and it also seeks comments on the relative merits of alternatives, such as adding new authorized standards of fill and developing an expedited process for adding additional standards in the future. All of these approaches would eliminate restrictions that inhibit competition and the movement of goods in domestic and international commerce. TTB is also proposing to amend the labeling regulations for distilled spirits and malt beverages to specifically provide that distilled spirits may be labeled with the equivalent standard United States (U.S.) measure in addition to the mandatory metric measure, and that malt beverages may be labeled with the equivalent metric measure in addition to the mandatory U.S. measure. Such labeling is currently allowed, but that is not explicitly stated in current regulations. This revision will align the distilled spirits and malt beverage labeling regulations with current policy and also with the wine labeling regulations. The wine labeling regulations state that wine may be labeled with the equivalent standard U.S. measure in addition to the mandatory metric measure.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is extending for an additional 90 days the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking published November 26, 2018, entitled, Modernization of the Labeling and Advertising Regulations for Wine, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages. TTB is taking this action in response to requests made by several alcohol beverage industry associations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 59,871-acre ``Van Duzer Corridor'' viticultural area in Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon. The viticultural area lies entirely within the established Willamette Valley 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. TTB also clarifies the boundary description of the adjacent Eola-Amity Hills viticultural area.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 1,246 square-mile ``Eastern Connecticut Highlands'' viticultural area in all or portions of Hartford, New Haven, Tolland, Windham, New London, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut. The proposed viticultural area is not within and does not overlap any other established AVA. 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed addition to its regulations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 215-square mile ``Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County'' viticultural area in Henderson County, North Carolina. The proposed 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed addition to its regulations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 1,500-square mile ``Upper Hudson'' viticultural area in all or portions of Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Washington Counties in New York. The Upper Hudson viticultural area is not located within 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.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages. TTB proposes to reorganize and recodify these regulations in order to simplify and clarify regulatory standards, incorporate guidance documents and current policy into the regulations, and reduce the regulatory burden on industry members where possible.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) invites comments on the proposed information collection associated with its chemist certification program.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) invites comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this document.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 126,635-acre ``Cape May Peninsula'' viticultural area in Cape May and Cumberland Counties, New Jersey. The viticultural area lies entirely within the established Outer Coastal Plain 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.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to expand the approximately 1,320-square mile ``Monticello'' viticultural area in Albemarle, Green, Nelson, and Orange Counties in Virginia, by approximately 166 square miles. The proposal would extend the viticultural area into Fluvanna County, Virginia. The established Monticello viticultural area and the proposed expansion area are not located within any 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed amendment to its regulations.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) invites comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this document.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) invites comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this document.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is expanding the approximately 2.25 million-acre ``Outer Coastal Plain'' viticultural area of southeastern New Jersey by approximately 32,932 acres. The Outer Coastal Plain AVA includes all or portions of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, and Salem counties. The established viticultural area and the expansion area are not located within 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.