If the owners of Nevada City Winery could start over, they might choose another name, perhaps Deer Creek Dry Diggings, an earlier handle for the mining camp. The stream, after all, flows right behind the winery. </p><p>But when they founded the business in Nevada City in 1980, Nevada City Winery seemed the logical choice, evoking history and romance.</p><p>For Rod Byers, however, the name has evoked nothing so much as a persistent headache. He's been Nevada City Winery's director of sales and marketing for nearly 25 years. It's a job that sees him presiding over countless tastings.</p><p>"I bet 20 times a day someone will ask, 'Where in Nevada are you?' " Byers says.</p><p>Fellow vintners throughout the county share his frustration. To their taste, the county of Nevada too often is confused with the state of Nevada. The state of Nevada, for all its charms, never has been celebrated for its wines.</p><p>Two years ago, the Nevada County Winery Association even changed its name to Northern Sierra Wine Country Association to avoid giving the impression that its members practiced their craft in the state of Nevada.</p><p>This confusion is no minor issue for the vintners. One of wine's principal selling points is its association with a specific place, such as Champagne and Chianti Classico. If winemakers aren't able to establish a strong geographical identity, their position in the marketplace is weakened.</p><p>Nevertheless, "Nevada County" doesn't appear often on labels of wine from producers in and about Nevada City and Grass Valley. If "Nevada County" is used, it's apt to be coupled with "Ca" for California, the practice adopted by Nevada City Winery. But for the most part, vintners are going with the broader "Sierra Foothills" on their labels, hoping that the region's identity as an established California appellation will secure their place in the market.