Finger Lakes history · regional story
How the Finger Lakes wine boundary was drawn
The original petition covered fourteen whole counties. Federal regulators reduced that proposed area by more than half before the Finger Lakes appellation took effect in 1982.
The Finger Lakes Wine Growers Association asked for a wine region covering fourteen whole counties, roughly 8,400 square miles. Federal regulators ultimately approved less than 4,000 square miles.
The decision followed a public rulemaking. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms held a hearing in Geneva on February 11, 1981. Its final account reported sixteen written comments, all but one supporting establishment of the area, and ten hearing witnesses who favored the originally proposed boundaries.
There was support for an official Finger Lakes appellation. The argument was over how much territory it should include.
The agency concluded that fourteen whole counties were too broad to define a distinct grape-growing area. It distinguished the boundaries used for state tourism and grape reporting from the physical geography needed for a viticultural area. The proposed map was reduced by more than half.
On September 1, 1982, the agency published the final rule, T.D. ATF-113. It adopted the amended boundary and took effect on October 1. Qualifying producers could then use “Finger Lakes” as an appellation of origin on wine labels and in advertising.
The name already described a wider region of landscapes and communities. The rule gave it a particular legal meaning for wine. A tourism map, a community's idea of the region, and the federal appellation do not necessarily draw the same line.
About this account
The final rule summarizes the hearing and submissions. The complete hearing transcript and historical docket have not been inspected for this account, so it does not claim to reproduce every participant's position.
Source note
The story is based on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' controlling final rule, T.D. ATF-113, Establishment of the Finger Lakes Viticultural Area, 47 Federal Register 38516–38518 (September 1, 1982). Petition and procedure appear on pages 38516–38517; comments, hearing, geography, climate, and boundary reasoning appear on page 38517; labeling effect, maps, and regulatory text appear on page 38518. The TTB American Viticultural Area reading room provides the agency's surviving online rulemaking documents.
The final rule summarizes the public hearing and submissions; this draft does not claim to reproduce every participant's position because the full hearing transcript and complete historical docket have not been inspected.