The Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) recognized, protected and registered California's "Napa Valley" Foreign Geographical Indication through Resolution 7/2026, published in the Official Gazette. The measure, requested by Napa Valley Vintners, covers the denomination used by nearly 400 U.S. wineries.
The Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV) recognized, protected and registered in Argentina the Foreign Geographical Indication "Napa Valley", belonging to the state of California, United States, through Resolution 7/2026 published on Thursday in the Official Gazette. Napa Valley is a winegrowing region located in Napa County, California, where nearly 400 wineries operate using that regional brand to position their wines around the world. The application was submitted by the association Napa Valley Vintners.
The regulation states: "The Foreign Geographical Indication Napa Valley, belonging to the State of California, United States of America, is recognized, protected and registered in the Argentine Republic, in accordance with the terms of Law 25,163, recognized and delimited in its country of origin by Title 27 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Section 9.23".
The recognition is based on Law 25,163 and its Regulatory Decree 57 of 2004, which empower the INV to "promote the conclusion of bilateral and/or multilateral agreements, founded on the principles of reciprocity and non-discrimination" for the recognition, protection and registration of indications of provenance, geographical indications and controlled denominations of origin, both national and foreign.
Previously, the same agency had granted similar recognition to the Geographical Indication Scotch Whisky, at the request of Great Britain. That first resolution was signed by Agriculture Secretary Sergio Iraeta, while the new regulation bears the signature of the head of the INV, Carlos Tizio Mayer.
The resolution does not detail any specific reciprocity obtained from the United States or Great Britain. Argentina has a list of its own geographical indications —such as the Uco Valley, in Mendoza— that do not have reciprocal recognition in those countries, while the recognitions granted to European Union and Mercosur products were achieved after years of negotiations within the framework of agreements between trade blocs.
