Appellation: With regard to wine labels, appellation refers to the place where the grapes are grown. Many appellations have official status, with either a government or trade bureau responsible to strictly delimit and regulate usage in order to assure both quality and authenticity.

AVA:  A system implemented in 1983 designed to identify U.S. wines in a fashion similar to the French APPELLATION D'ORIGINE CONTRÔLÉE (AOC) or AC) system. Unlike the French regulations, however, the rules governing American VITICULTURE AREAS (under the jurisdiction of BATF-Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) are extremely lax.