(NVR) - Three winery members of the Napa Valley Vintners announced at the nonprofit trade association’s annual general membership meeting that they are voluntarily giving up use of the name "Port" on their Napa Valley fortified dessert wines.

Boyd Family Vineyards, Freemark Abbey and Jessup Cellars have the legal right to use the term because they were grandfathered following the signing of the 2006 U.S./European Commission Wine Trade Agreement. Each has voluntarily agreed to stop using the term out of respect for the NVV’s efforts to protect winemaking place names. Porto in Portugal is the world’s oldest denominated wine region.

“Protecting the Napa name and preventing consumer confusion are top priorities for the NVV,” said Emma Swain, incoming chairwoman of the board of the 525-member organization and CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery. “If we’re asking other regions to respect our name, we’ve got to walk the talk. We applaud these three member wineries for doing the right thing and we encourage other vintners to follow suit.”

Vincent Perrin, director general of the Comité Champagne, delivered the meeting’s keynote address, providing insights from his trade association about luxury marketing.

Champagne has been a steadfast NVV ally in the global effort to protect and respect place names for quality wine regions. Napa Valley, Champagne and Porto were also three of the original signatories of the trans-Atlantic agreement, Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin, in 2005.

David R. Duncan of Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars, outgoing chairman of the NVV board of directors, passed the association’s ceremonial gavel to incoming chair Swain. Other 2016 NVV board officers joining Duncan and Swain include Michael Honig of Honig Vineyard & Winery, vice chair, and Paul Leary of Blackbird Vineyards, treasurer/secretary.