By Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/OregonLive

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The Willametter Journal and Elouan pinot noirs. (Michael Alberty)

California winery Copper Cane should lose its licenses to distribute wine or do retail business within the state of Oregon, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has recommended.

According to a letter that the commission’s executive director, Steven Marks, sent to Copper Cane and its owner, Joseph Wagner, OLCC staff have found the winery committed multiple violations of Oregon labeling regulations. Copper Cane has until Dec. 20 to request a hearing on the charges.

Meanwhile, the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau recently blocked Copper Cane from referring to specific Oregon winegrowing regions, or American Viticultural Areas, on its wine labels. Copper Cane’s The Willametter Journal pinot noir and six wines made under the Elouan label will be limited to stating “Oregon” as their appellation of origin in future vintages.

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Joseph Wagner of Copper Cane. (photograph courtesy of Copper Cane)

At issue is Copper Cane’s practice of buying grapes in Oregon and transporting them to California to make wine. Once the grapes cross into California, federal and state regulations require the labels to reference only “Oregon” as the appellation of origin. Direct or indirect references to specific AVAs like the Willamette, Rogue or Umpqua Valleys are forbidden.

Wagner said Monday he has agreed to surrender the labels, meaning they will not be used for future bottlings.

“This all started with a complaint sent to the (federal agency) by the OLCC,” Wagner said. “These labels had already been cleared by the (federal agency), and we even worked with them on the best ways to characterize the origin of our fruit. However, once the (agency) told us they made an error in approving them in the first place, we voluntarily agreed to work up new labels.”

In a controversial move, the federal agency allowed Copper Cane to sell its last batches of bottles with the illegal labels. Oregon State Rep. David Gomberg took issue with the decision, saying it would allow Copper Cane to sell nearly 900,000 more wine bottles to the detriment of Oregon wine producers.

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Back label of the Missoulan Wash. (Michael Alberty)

“I do not know how anyone came up with that number,” Wagner said. “The only two wines affected by the ruling in the marketplace right now are The Coastal Standard pinot noir and The Willametter Journal. I’m guessing we will sell out of those in weeks or a few months.”

Future Copper Cane labels will clearly state the grapes are grown in Oregon and the wines are made in California, Wagner said.

“We are proud to let people know we are making Oregon wines in California,” he said. “Other California wineries are doing this, but I feel like we are being singled out unfairly. Perhaps it’s because some people up there don’t like our style of pinot noir.”

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Wagner also sees a few silver linings in this battle with Oregon producers. “This whole argument sheds light on the concept of truth in labeling. We want to be able to tell our customers exactly where our grapes come from, whether it’s the Umpqua, Rogue or Willamette Valleys. I also think more people are now aware of the Elouan brand and what we are doing.”

One Elouan wine left unscathed by federal sanctions is the Missoulan Wash pinot noir, which cites “Willamette hillsides” on its back label. When asked if he was worried about hearing from the federal agency about the Missoulan Wash, Wagner said, “Don’t worry, we are already working on a new label.”

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Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.