<P> An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape - growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the United States Department of the Treasury . </P> <P> The TTB defines AVAs at the request of wineries and other petitioners . As of November 2016, there were 238 AVAs in the United States . Before the AVA system, wine appellations of origin in the United States were designated based on state or county boundaries . All of these appellations were grandfathered into federal law and may appear on wine labels as designated places of origin, but these appellations are distinct from AVAs . </P>

Ava's are administered by the us treasury department's