AVAs: Why even have them?

I came across a New York Times article about the Sonoma Coast appellation, which got me thinking about how and why the system of AVAs came about in the United States and how this varies from the way they are used in the old world such as in France.

In France, appellations are all about proving quality and typicity.  Take the example of Carianne, a Rhone appellation that just got recognized as an "appellation communale" last year.  They spent years lobbying to reach this designation, which they believe is very important to consumers.  Appellation communale status designates that your wine is from a high quality region and is created using high quality production techniques.  Of course, it doesn't necessarily meant that any given wine labeled as such is good--it's just an indicator that it might be.

In the United States, the American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) were created alongside regulation in the 1980s that was aimed at allowing consumers to know where their wine is coming from.  85% of the grapes must come from a specific AVA to be labeled as such.  The AVAs designate a certain geographical area.  There are neither specific regulations about winemaking techniques nor any indication of quality tied with the AVA system as there is in France.

The NYT article notes that the Sonoma Coast AVA is not a valuable indicator about what a Pinot Noir from that region might taste like.  The AVA is 75 miles long and encompasses wineries producing wine in a variety of styles, so it doesn't really serve to indicate information to the consumer.  Producers within the geographic area of the Sonoma Coast AVA have even tried to subdivide so as not to be aligned with this very large AVA.

With all this in mind, how do consumers actually use AVAs in the wine purchasing decision?  A study from 2010 found the consumers use information about the country, region, and state when purchasing wine, but do not rely on appellation information.  All of this begs the question, why are wineries forced to undertake onerous tracking and labeling to label specific to an appellation?

I personally use appellation information in my wine purchase decisions mostly as a proxy for the fact that a wine may be higher quality if it is labeled with an AVA.  If it's labeled with an AVA, the grapes had to be sourced more narrowly, which could mean higher quality grapes.   However, I have not found that I can tell the difference between a Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville versus Yountville.

I'm curious, does anyone use AVAs in their wine purchasing decision?  And if so, how?

https://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/360/wine-appellation-regulation-in-the-us-and-france-as-a-response-to-globalization