Looking Behind the Label

Did you know that every word you see on a wine label is regulated?  The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (aka TTB), a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, manages wine label requirements.

These regulations govern issues such as:

• what percentage of the wine has to be from the same grape variety for that grape's name to be allowed on the label?
• what percentage of the wine has to be from a particular place for that place name to be allowed on the label?
• when must the percentage of alcohol be listed on the label and when not?

The TTB provides a handy reference guide (you know how I feel about those) to inform us of these issues, so that when we look at a wine label, we'll understand better what it means.  I've included snapshots below, but you can view, download, or print the pdf file of the brochure from the TTB website.