Wine Term: AVA

The AVA is the American or Approved Viticultural Areas, depending on what you're reading. This is the American equivalent to France's AOC. It oversees the production and quality of wines in the U.S.

I used to think this was called the American Viticultural Association. That never made sense to me though, because it didn't seem to have anything to do with terroir. I was happy to learn I was wrong. Lesson here, don't make up what you think something means.

This organization does not really regulate anything other than the amount of grape required to call something a varietal and the areas that wine grapes may be grown in. This makes it harder to determine where quality wines are coming from.

My recommendation with the different types of American wines, be they California wines, Washington state wines, or Maryland wines, taste them at the winery, or tasting room. Especially if you are going to spend a lot of money on them. If you are already familiar with the grower, then go for broke.

If not, spend less money and experiment with lesser expensive wines. Then, if you end up with a bad wine, at least you didn't waste a lot of money. Personally, I enjoy the Coppola wines. You can choose to spend between $7-$50 and get a good bottle just about every time. When in doubt though, drink some more wine.

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