The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) has approved changes in vintage regulations which would reduce the minimum content requirement from 95% to 85% on wine from state and county designations. Wine from a recognized American Viticulture Area would still be required to consist of 95% of the vintage date stated on the label. That means, for example, that a wine labeled as 2006 Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon could contain as much as 15 percent wine made from the 2005 harvest, while a 2006 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon may contain no more than 5 percent wine from 2005.

The change was approved despite the opposition of the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) and other groups. Wine Institute favored the proposal, arguing that New Zealand and the European Union have an 85 percent requirement for vintage-dated wine while Chile and South Africa require only that 75 percent of the grapes in a vintage-dated wine be grown in the year on the label.

The Institute also argued that the new regulation would lead to an improvement in taste appeal of many wines, including young wines which would be smoother because of the addition of older wine.

CAWG said the change would harm grape growers by allowing producers to use more wine from high-production, low-priced years.