Feds: Napa Valley vintner Joe Wagner can't use Oregon label on his wines

MEDFORD, Ore. - A major Napa Valley wine producer must stop using labels that imply a connection to Oregon pinot noirs.

The Mail Tribune reports that the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has ruled that Napa Valley vintner Joe Wagner must surrender nine labels - including Elouan and The Willametter -- because of the deceptive labeling.

But wine produced by Elouan Winery that is already in stores and warehouses will not be recalled.

The labeling caught the attention of the Oregon wine industry and state Legislature last summer.

Wagner has previously called the controversy a "charade."

He says he uses Oregon grapes but produces the wine in California.

Oregon wine producers say the state's $5.6 billion wine industry needs to be protected from false claims.

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Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/