It is a circle of appellations, one within another, within another. Arkansas mountain viticultural area is totally encompassed by the Ozark Mountains appellation and totally encompasses Altus AVA. The area is 4500 acres with over 1800 under vine. It was October 27, 1986 when the appellation was made official by the BATF and it was deemed primarily due to a mean winter temperature which was much higher then in the surrounding areas. As the mountain descends into the alluvial plains of the Mississippi river in the east this appellation’s boundary line is drawn. The principal winery in the area (and petitioner for the AVA) is Wiederker wine cellar who is producing 50,000 cases of wine annually. They began establishing area recognition for in 1974 when the name Arkansas Mountain first appeared on some of their labels. While this AVA is rarely used it provides winemakers with a means of distinguishing Arkansas fruit from the neighboring Missouri.