PORTLAND (AP) - "Brand Oregon" is Gov. Ted Kulongoski's effort to spur the state's economy by trading on its character and products.

But some winemakers believe they would be better off marketing their product using distinctive growing regions, rather than the big umbrella of Brand Oregon.

"Brand Oregon is a political issue, and I wish them luck," said Ken Wright, a winemaker. "But forcing all regions of the state to market their wines as one is really going to dilute the message of what Oregon has to offer."

Applications are pending to create 10 new American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs in Oregon. Only six of these - all in the northern Willamette Valley - have been announced. The rest, until published by the federal agency that handles such requests, are considered proprietary information, said Nancy Sutton, AVA coordinator for the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

For some, having their own AVA carries far more cachet in the marketplace than a larger, more generic listing, such as "Willamette Valley" or simply "Oregon."

"Our customers who are paying top dollar for our pinot noir want to know exactly where the grapes were grown, and saying 'Willamette Valley' on our label is not cutting it anymore," said Alex Sokol Blosser, national sales manager for Sokol Blosser in Dundee. "My hope is that these AVAs will create some more excitement about Oregon wine and its growing areas and give our customers more geographic definition on the label."

Sutton said a similar trend is playing out across the country, as areas try to differentiate themselves from the competition.

In Oregon, however, that trend is taking a different tack. Instead of Oregon versus the rest of the country, according to some, it's more like Oregon versus itself.

"There are about 175 AVAs in the country, and for the most part, wine consumers aren't particularly knowledgeable about most of them," said Eric Rogers, business manager at Eola Hills Wine Cellars near Rickreall.

"California's Napa Valley or Sonoma have an air of exclusivity. But once you get down to the Dundee Hills or Eola Hills, you're playing to such a small audience that most people don't even have a clue where you are."

Rogers' winery has a particular beef with the AVA system. Under federal guidelines, a winery's label can't use an AVA if most of the grapes in the wine aren't grown inside those defined boundaries. In Eola Hills' case, it could not continue to use the name at all because it buys about 25 percent of its grapes from vineyards located outside the proposed Eola Hills AVA.

"We're the sixth-largest winery in Oregon, and yet we'd have to develop a second label just to continue production," Rogers said. "In the meantime, a lot of other wineries not nearly as well known as we are could build on the reputation we've made by using Eola Hills on their labels."

Several wineries located within the proposed Eola Hills AVA grow all of their grapes on site, he said. Under federal rules, they could now print "Eola Hills AVA" on their label, while Eola Hills Wine Cellars, without a change in labels, would be prohibited from doing so.

Approval of the new AVAs, if granted, isn't expected for three to six months, Sutton said. The proposed AVAs are Chehalem Mountains, Eola Hills, Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton District and McMinnville District.

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Information from: The Oregonian