TTB has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input from industry concerning whether certain winemaking terms are understood by consumers to convey specific information and whether TTB should define how such terms may be used on wine labels and in advertising.  Some of the terms being considered for more specific regulatory definition by TTB include “estate,” “vineyard,” “ranch” and “reserve.”  This should be of particular concern to brand owners since greater regulatory definition could require that they remove these terms from their trademarks and trade names necessitating the filing of new trademark applications, fictitious business name statements, ABC license applications and COLAs.

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