The following grape variety names have been approved by the Administrator for use as type designations for American wines. When more than one name may be used to identify a single variety of grape, the synonym is shown in parentheses following the grape variety names. Grape variety names may appear on labels of wine in upper or in lower case, and may be spelled with or without the hyphens or diacritic marks indicated in the following list.

The following alternative names shown in the left column may be used as the type designation for American wine in lieu of the name of the grape variety shown in the right column. Alternative names listed in the left column may only be used for wine bottled prior to the date indicated.

(a) Wines bottled prior to January 1, 1997.

(b) Wines bottled prior to January 1, 1999.

(c) Wines bottled prior to January 1, 2006.

(d) Wines bottled prior to October 29, 2012.

(a) Any interested person may petition the Administrator for the approval of a grape variety name. The petition may be in the form of a letter and should provide evidence of the following—

(1) Acceptance of the new grape variety,

(2) The validity of the name for identifying the grape variety,

(3) That the variety is used or will be used in winemaking, and

(4) That the variety is grown and used in the United States.

(b) For the approval of names of new grape varieties, documentation submitted with the petition to establish the items in paragraph (a) of this section may include—

(1) reference to the publication of the name of the variety in a scientific or professional journal of horticulture or a published report by a professional, scientific or winegrowers' organization,

(2) reference to a plant patent, if so patented, and

(3) information pertaining to the commercial potential of the variety, such as the acreage planted and its location or market studies.

(c) The Administrator will not approve a grape variety name if:

(1) The name has previously been used for a different grape variety;

(2) The name contains a term or name found to be misleading under § 4.39; or

(3) The name of a new grape variety contains the term “Riesling.”

(d) For new grape varieties developed in the United States, the Administrator may determine if the use of names which contain words of geographical significance, place names, or foreign words are misleading under § 4.39. The Administrator will not approve the use of a grape variety name found to be misleading.

(e) The Administrator shall publish the list of approved grape variety names at least annually in the Federal Register.