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The Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin, commonly known as the Napa Declaration on Place, is a "declaration of joint principles stating the importance of location to wine and the need to protect place names." The Declaration group brings together a diverse group of wine regions from multiple continents that compete with each other in the marketplace, yet agree that protecting wine place names worldwide is key to future of the quality wine world and to avoid consumer confusion. In 2011, the Declaration group released a poll of 1000 U.S. wine consumers with the following findings: * 79 percent consider the region where a wine comes from an important factor when buying a bottle of wine; * 75 percent report they would be less likely to buy a wine if they learned that it claimed to be from a place like Champagne, Napa Valley or Oregon, but in actuality was not; * 84 percent think that the region a wine comes from is extremely important in determining its quality; * 96 percent say that consumers deserve to know that the location where wine grapes are grown is accurately stated on wine labels; and * 98 percent support establishing worldwide standards for all winemakers that would require that they accurately state the location where wine grapes are grown on wine labels. Support for winegrowing place name protection has also been voiced by some of the world's preeminent names in food and wine. The declaration released an open letter on October 19, 2011 signed by chefs and sommeliers lending their support for truth in wine labeling. Signatories included Thomas Keller from Per Se and
the French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French cuisine, French and California cuisine, Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1 ...
; Ferran Adrià from El Bulli; Daniel Boulud from Daniel; Gérard Margeon from Alain Ducasse;
Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...
from Wolfgang Puck Restaurants; Antoine Hernandez from Joël Robuchon; Michel Richard from Citronelle; José Andrés from Jaleo and minibar; Pontus Elofsson from Noma; Charlie Palmer from Charlie Palmer Restaurants and many others from around the globe. The declaration was signed in July 2005 by five
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
winegrowing regions and three
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
winegrowing regions. The signatory regions from the US were: *
Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...
* Washington *
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
* Walla Walla Valley *
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...
The signatory regions from the EU were: *
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
* Oporto (the region where
Port wine Port wine (, ; ), or simply port, is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often served with dessert wine, ...
is produced) * Jerez (the region where
Sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...
is produced) All wine regions signing the declaration pledged to work together to educate consumers about the importance of place and to protect the integrity of these names worldwide. It is the first such agreement among EU and U.S. winemakers and is seen as a step toward breaking down the "Old World vs. New World" focus in wine, replacing it with one that highlights greater understanding of where wine comes from all over the world. The list of signatories to the agreement expanded in March 2007 when
Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
, Paso Robles, Chianti Classico, Tokay, and the Australian states of Victoria and
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
signed the Declaration at a ceremony in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
In 2010, Rioja and
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
added their signature to this effort. On March 26, 2014, Santa Barbara,
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, and
Bourgogne Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. T ...
/ Chablis became the latest signatories to the movement. In addition, an invitation has been extended for winemakers from other wine-producing regions to sign onto the agreement.


Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin

The text of the declaration is as follows: :Whereas, it is generally acknowledged that there are a handful of truly extraordinary places on earth from which great wine is consistently produced. :Whereas, the names of these places are printed on labels side-by-side with the names of the producers to identify the origin of the wine. :Whereas, wine, more than any other beverage, is valued based on its association to its place of origin–and with good reason. :Whereas, even before modern technology allowed us to tie specific definitions to the soils, terrain, and climates of noted wine regions, winemakers were drawn to these special places. :Whereas, the names of these places are familiar, and synonymous with quality. :Whereas, we respectfully submit that the place where wine is grown plays a very important role in a consumer’s selection process. :Whereas, we are furthermore united in our belief that the geographic place names of wine regions are the sole birthright of the grapes that are grown there, and when these names appear on wines that do not contain fruit from that region, they lose their integrity and their relevance, becoming merely words. :Therefore, be it resolved that we, as some of the world’s leading wine regions, join together in supporting efforts to maintain and protect the integrity of these place names, which are fundamental tools for consumer identification of great winegrowing regions and the wines they produce.


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External links


Petition to Protect Wine Place & Origin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napa Declaration On Place Appellations Brand management Napa County, California