New TTB Ruling on Nutrition Labeling and Advertising

SAN FRANCISCO – A new ruling issued today by the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) expands the tolerances for voluntary calorie statements on labels and in advertisements for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages to make them more consistent with the food labeling regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The ruling allows for the use of databases and “typical values” or ranges for voluntarily reporting calories.

“Wine is not a recipe product. It varies from vintage to vintage and can even vary from barrel to barrel in a given year,” said Bobby Koch, Wine Institute President and CEO. “Today’s ruling removes a major hurdle for providing nutrition information in labeling and advertising. We appreciate TTB’s response to the concerns we raised.”

Previous nutrition labeling guidelines established by TTB in 2004 were onerous and costly for wineries because they involved expensive testing of multiple batches of wine close to the time of bottling. The FDA has allowed for the use of databases and “typical values” or ranges when disclosing nutrition information on restaurant menus since 2014. Today’s important announcement makes TTB guidance more consistent with that of the FDA and streamlines the process for wineries that wish to provide nutrition information including calorie, carbohydrate, protein and fat content to consumers.

Wine Institute’s Technical Advisory Committee (WITAC) advocated for uniformity with FDA guidelines to allow wineries to label and advertise nutrition information.

TTB Ruling 2020-1

TTB Procedure 2020-1