Napa Valley Vintners win new protection for Napa name

The Napa Valley Vintners announced Monday it has obtained a certification mark from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the name “Napa Valley,” the latest step in its quest to prevent wineries outside the renowned wine valley from misusing the Napa name.

The certification mark guarantees that wines bearing the name Napa Valley are made from grapes grown in the Napa Valley American Viticultural Area. The trade group said the designation will protect its wines from those who deceptively use the term Napa Valley, which has been a persistent problem with Chinese vintners.

The certification process took five years and the trade group had to obtain agreements with more than 100 businesses that use Napa in their own trademarks. It’s the first time that an American Viticultural Area has been registered.

The vintners group had already gained protection for Napa Valley with countries and organizations such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.

“Working with other countries to obtain protection for the Napa Valley name, it became clear we needed similar status here at home to be taken seriously when requesting support outside the U.S.,” said J. Scott Gerien, attorney for Napa Valley Vintners.

The trade group has been vocal and active in protecting the Napa Valley name, so much so that it has alienated other California vintners in its push to phase out semi-generic names such as port, chablis and champagne.

The Napa Valley Vintners had aligned itself with the European Union in negotiations with the U.S. over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which would set a new framework for tariffs as well as labor, environmental and intellectual property agreements.

Local vintners such as Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville oppose any change to remove such semi-generic names, noting that such terms have become commonplace with consumers and have been added to the tax code.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.