Petaluma Gap seeks its own wine appellation

(Petaluma360) - With its sweeping winds and mineral rich soil, Petaluma stands apart from other wine regions in Sonoma County, and that’s just what local winemakers and grape growers are banking on. The Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance has launched a campaign to put the area on the map, the American Viticultural Area map, specifically, a move they say will make the industry more lucrative.

“It will establish Petaluma as the gateway to wine country,” says Paul Clary, former president of the wine alliance and owner of Clary Ranch Wines. “We need people here to recognize that they do live in wine country. They don’t have to drive north or east to get there.”

Like winemaking itself, establishing a new AVA takes time and money. But, the alliance says it’s necessary thanks to a newly established law that requires all wineries to put both the region and sub-region on wine labels, which for Petaluma wines would be Sonoma County and Sonoma Coast.

“That’s redundant,” says Doug Cover, vice president of the association. “No where does it say Petaluma Gap.”

While Sonoma is a world famous name, Petaluma is still finding its footing as a wine region, and securing its own AVA would help the area better brand products to stand out in the highly saturated Sonoma County wine market. Plus, the alliance says Petaluma meets the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s criteria for a new AVA, which requires that a region must distinguish itself, both in climate and wine flavor profile, from other AVAs on the map.