Comment 2: Clark, Jennifer

I consider myself to be a wine connoisseur and in my life have visited several established wine regions. I live in California and like to support the local economy, which is why I mainly choose to purchase wine from the California region. Upon reading this bill I was satisfied that the local consumers’ interest was the main concern and ensuring their access to information to ensure satisfaction when purchasing was protected. However, I did some research about the proposed wine region and wine labeling and find the proposed legislation to be a bit misleading. While I still support the initiative and hope it is adopted, I find that properly identifying the main beneficiary of the proposed rule is needed. It is clearly written in the Federal Register, who proposed the petition and what businesses currently operate in the area. This proposed bill is to the benefit of the four established wine businesses. They will now have the ability to attract tourists to their region, hold tasting events and label their wine in a more beneficial way. All of these benefits can result in being able to charge more for their product. I support local business and think this concept is great, but I do disagree with it being labeled as a consumer friendly rule. In my research I found that most American’s purchase wine based on its label colors/shapes and company name, not information provided. It is to the benefit of the consumer to know more about what they are purchasing, but that is not the main purpose of this bill. I support this proposed rule, under the premise, that the main goal is to boost the local economy and provide local vintners with a more competitive advantage in the wine marketplace.