Appellation? More line Appalachian.

Hehe. Get it?

On the wine label, the rules of wine in the US require us to say “American” for origin. We are not allowed to specify that we found and used beautiful fruit from two parts of the country. The concern about being transparent is likely twofold: 1) The origins themselves have a right to a name that characterizes their region, and 2) that the consumer will be confused about what to expect. We think number 1 is reasonable to a point. But for number 2, we think you deserve way more credit.

So let’s get into it. What does the origin of a wine really mean?

Listen, terroir is real. It’s to be respected. Tradition within the wine industry has created some of the best and most consistent wines the world has ever known. It’s important to know where a wine comes from, what went into it’s fabrication, and what you should expect when you try it. It makes a huge difference if a season was rainier than usual, or if frost persisted into the spring. The chemistry of a grape is very delicate. And then on top of that, there are bugs, birds, dear, and miscelaneous creatures that can impact vines over the course of a growing season. And that’s not even taking humans into account - the most destructive of the potential pests. The environment of a vineyard holds a delicate balance that winds up directly or indirectly in your cup.

Climate, geography, and regulations are like a sound mixing board, ever adjusting a wine’s characteristics with the slightest turn of a knob. These variables offer the opportunities to create uniqueness every year; they are the beauty of a vintage wine, and the headache of a winemaker aiming for a reliable product that keeps customers coming back.

In short, the ingredients of wine are simple. You need grapes and that’s it. But the grapes themselves have undergone an epic and life-defining journey since bloom. And no grape is identical to another.

So appellations are intended to create an arbitrary, yet useful set of expectations about a wine that you might buy and drink. They establish common characteristics that you would be likely to see in wines made within a similar region, methodology, and grape variety. To use an appellation means that a winemaker has followed a set of strict and agreed-upon rules for how they cultivate their grapes and make their wines. On the upside, it protects a certain “brand” of characteristics and wine reputation. On the downside, there is little to no room for change.

Tradition and rules do come at a cost; the wine industry is loath to evolve and innovate. There are a couple of reasons why trying something new would be risky for winemaker, and losing the ability to use an appellation name is one of them. The appellation name guarantees your spot next to similar wines, generally setting a standard for price and quality that allow the winemaker to sell with ease. If deviating from an appellation, you generally have to claim only origin nation. And this, of course, tells you very little about what to expect.

Another reason that is obvious to anybody who has tried their hand at gardening in the summer… you only get one shot. If you allocate some of your grapes to try something new, you put your income on the line in the possibility that the wine doesn’t turn out as you wish, or something goes wrong. It’s much safer to carry on as usual in a system that is proven to work.

But then… how and when can we ever have new wine? In many places, you really won’t. Innovation and newness is not valued.

But here it is! Operation Bubbles is made in the foothills of Appalachia. And to us, that means risking it, overlooking some convention, and expecting the woes of trial and error. We’re blending terroir this year, looking to get the best of multiple worlds. We’ve added failsafe red from the dry and hot area around Lodi, California, to the lush and humid growing region of Virginia to bring a balanced wine.

Our goal is to get people talking, to jumpstart more “new”ness and uniqueness and play in the wine world.