(Wines&Vines) - The emergence of single-vineyard wines often coincides with winegrowers identifying characters that help their region stand apart from the rest.

This was the case a decade ago in Ontario, where wineries began bottling single-vineyard wines following the establishment of 11 sub-appellations. More recently, British Columbia wineries named the vineyards that produced their grapes as a way to further distinguish their geographic origins without running afoul of the province’s authorized geographic indicators.

 “All producers of quality wine are proud of where their wine comes from, and they want to talk about it on the labels,” Ezra Cipes, chair of the B.C. Wine Appellation Task Group, told Wines & Vines earlier this year. “We can’t really do that under our current appellation system.…We can do vineyard-designated wines for single vineyards, but as far as geographical indications go, the closest we can get is to say, ‘Fraser Valley’ or ‘Similkameen Valley’ or ‘Okanagan Valley.’”

While changes are afoot in British Columbia, with the task group suggesting 15 new sub-appellations in the Okanagan (see “More Appellations, Less Red Tape”), a seminar at the Oregon Wine Industry Symposium in Portland next February will boost the branding potential for vineyard owners.

Vineyard could be stronger than AVA

“Everyone wants to cook up an AVA designation for their little ZIP code,” said Tom Danowski, executive director of the Oregon Wine Board. “But right below that is a level of really creating your vineyard as a brand that, in some ways, might even be preferable or even better perhaps than just clawing your way to AVA status.”

 The symposium will bring together growers from both Washington and Oregon, including Dick Boushey, Marty Clubb, Dai Crisp and Dick Shea to discuss opportunities for growers and the experience they’ve had with their own vineyards.