New World wine lands are only just getting round to systematizing the use of place names. Until the 1980s, more stress was put on the name of the producer and the grape variety. The need to harmonize laws to aid exports, along with an increasing consumer awareness of the nuances of location, have combined to bring in location labeling laws in all wine countries.
The United States uses a Viticul-tural Area system which is described. Wines can, if they meet the rules, be labeled as coming from a state, a county, or a specially defined area which can be as large as half a state (such as California's North Coast VA) or as small as one vineyard (such as Napa Valley Atlas Peak VA in California).
Australia introduced a similar system in 1994, based on zones and regions. New Zealand's appellation system is due for implementation in 1995, while South Africa has had a system of Wine of Origin regions, with a narrower category of districts, since the 1970s.
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