Wine Industry Competitiveness: A survey of the Shawnee Hills American Viticultural Area

There is a growing consumer preference for regional or "terroir" based products (Guy 2011). The designation of American Viticultural Area (AVA) status has the potential to increase the development of consumer identification with regional wine products. The presence of a distinguishing terroir is one of the prerequisites for the establishment of a federally recognized AVA. The Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) granted the Shawnee Hills, located in southern Illinois, this designation at their request in 2006 (MKF 2005).