(a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Nine Lakes of East Tennessee”. For purposes of part 4 of this chapter, “Nine Lakes of East Tennessee” is a term of viticultural significance.

(b) Approved maps. The 6 United States Geological Survey (USGS) 1:100,000 scale topographic maps used to determine the boundary of the Nine Lakes of East Tennessee viticultural area are:

(1) Middlesboro, KY-Tenn.-VA, 1977;

(2) Morristown, Tennessee, 1981;

(3) Knoxville, Tenn.-N.C., 1983;

(4) Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1979;

(5) Watts Bar Lake, Tennessee, 1981; and

(6) Cleveland, Tennessee-N.C., 1981.

(c) Boundary. The Nine Lakes of East Tennessee viticultural area is located in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Roane, Sevier, and Union Counties, Tennessee. The boundary of the viticultural area is described as follows:

(1) The beginning point is on the Middlesboro map at the intersection of the shared Hancock-Claiborne County line and the shared Virginia-Tennessee State line. From the beginning point, proceed west along the Virginia-Tennessee State line for 10.13 miles to the boundary of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park; then

(2) Proceed southwest, then northwest along the park boundary for approximately 4.78 miles to its intersection with the 500-meter elevation contour on Powell Mountain; then

(3) Proceed southwest, then northeast, then southwest along the meandering 500-meter elevation contour for approximately 11.18 miles, crossing onto the Morristown map, and continuing along the 500-meter elevation contour for approximately 10.38 miles, crossing onto the Oak Ridge map, and continuing along the 500-meter elevation contour for 8.7 miles to the point where it turns sharply northeast just east of Highway 25W and north of Lafollette; then

(4) Proceed west in a straight line for approximately 0.49 mile, crossing over Highway 25W, to the 500-meter elevation contour; then

(5) Proceed southwest, then northeast along the 500-meter elevation contour for approximately 7.46 miles to its intersection with and unnamed tributary of Bruce Creek; then

(6) Proceed west in a straight line to Interstate 75; then

(7) Proceed south in a straight line for approximately 6.34 miles to the intersection of the Campbell and Anderson County lines; then

(8) Proceed south along the shared Campbell-Anderson County line for approximately 6.28 miles, crossing over Stony Fork, to the intersection with an unnamed trail running southwest-to-northeast along Windrock Mountain; then

(9) Proceed southwest in a straight line for 9.26 miles to the intersection with the shared Anderson-Morgan County line; then

(10) Proceed southeast along the Anderson-Morgan County line for approximately 5.59 miles to its intersection with the Roane County line; then

(11) Proceed southwest along the shared Roane-Morgan County line for approximately 5.65 miles, crossing onto the Watts Bar Lake map, and continuing along the Roane-Morgan County line to its intersection with the Cumberland County line; then

(12) Proceed southwest in a straight line for approximately 8.82 miles to the intersection of the Roane and Rhea County lines and State Road 29; then

(13) Proceed southerly along the shared Roane-Rhea County line for approximately 5.47 miles to its intersection with the Meigs County line; then

(14) Proceed south-southeast along the Roane-Meigs County line to its intersection with the McMinn County line; then

(15) Proceed east along the shared Roane-McMinn County line for 1.8 miles to the intersection with the Loudon County line; then

(16) Proceed south, then easterly along the shared Loudon-McMinn County line to its intersection with the Monroe County line; then

(17) Proceed south, then southeast along the shared McMinn-Monroe County line for approximately 10.56 miles, crossing onto the Cleveland, Tennessee-North Carolina map, and continuing along the shared McMinn-Monroe County line for approximately 13.67 miles to the intersection with an unnamed highway known locally as State Road 39/Mecca Highway; then

(18) Proceed southeast along State Road 39 for approximately 3.04 miles to its intersection with the Cherokee National Forest boundary, which is concurrent with Conasauga Creek; then

(19) Proceed southeasterly, then northerly along the Cherokee National Forest boundary for approximately 23.67 miles, crossing onto the Watts Bar Lake map, and continue northeasterly, then easterly along the forest boundary for approximately 15.35 miles as it meanders east through Tellico Lake and becomes concurrent with the Blount-Monroe County line and crosses onto the Knoxville, Tennessee-North Carolina map, to the forest boundary's intersection with Abrams Creek; then

(20) Proceed north in a straight line for approximately 1,500 feet to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundary; then

(21) Proceed northeast, then southeast, then northeast along the park boundary line for a total of approximately 51.47 miles to its intersection with the shared Cocke-Sevier County line near Rocky Grove; then

(22) Proceed northeast in a straight line for 6.15 miles to the intersection of the Cherokee National Forest boundary with Highway 321/State Road 32 and Rabbit Branch near Allen Grove; then

(23) Proceed east along the forest boundary for 1.99 miles to its intersection with Interstate 40; then

(24) Proceed north along Interstate 40 for 2.98 miles to its intersection with Highway 321; then

(25) Proceed northeast along the forest boundary for 3.12 miles to its intersection with State Road 73 at Edwina; then

(26) Proceed northeast in a straight line for 9.2 miles, crossing onto the Morristown map, and continuing northeast in a straight line for 4.16 miles to the shared Greene-Cocke County line; then

(27) Proceed northwest along the Greene-Cocke County line to its intersection with the Hamblen County line; then

(28) Proceed northeast along the Hamblen-Greene County line to its intersection with the Hawkins County line; then

(29) Proceed northwest, then southwest along the Hawkins-Hamblen County line to its intersection with the Grainger County line; then

(30) Proceed northwesterly along the Hawkins-Grainger County line to its intersection with the Hancock County line; then

(31) Proceed west along the Grainger-Hancock County line to its intersection with the Claiborne County line; then

(32) Proceed north along the Hancock-Claiborne County line for approximately 8.14 miles, crossing onto the Middlesboro map, and continuing northwest along the Hancock-Claiborne County line for approximately 8.51 miles to return to the beginning point.