All containers of wine, including bottles, barrels, casks, or other closed receptacles, irrespective of size or of the material from which made, which are used for the transportation, importation, or sale of wine shall bear a brand label (or a brand label and other permitted labels) containing the following mandatory label information.

1. (1) There shall be stated on the brand label, in readily legible form:

   1. (A) brand name;
   2. (B) class and type;
   3. (C) name and address of bottler, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this section; and
   4. (D) on blends consisting of foreign and United States wines, if any reference to the presence of foreign wine is made, the exact percentage by volume of foreign wine.
2. (2) In the case of wine bottled for a retailer or other person under his private brand, the name and address of the bottler need not be stated on the brand label, but may be stated on any other label affixed to the container, if the name and address of the person for whom bottled appears on the brand label.

3. (3) There shall be stated on the brand label, or on a separate label affixed in immediate proximity thereto on the same size of the container, in readily legible form:

   1. (A) Alcoholic content. Alcoholic content shall be stated in the case of wines containing more than 14% of alcohol by volume, and, in the case of wine containing 14% or less of alcohol by volume, the alcoholic content may, but need not be, stated. Any statement of alcoholic content shall conform with this subchapter. Alcoholic content shall be stated in terms of percentage of alcohol by volume, and not otherwise, as provided in either clause (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph:

      1. (i) "Alcohol ______% by volume." Except as provided in clause (iii) of this subparagraph, a tolerance of 1.0%, in the case of wines containing more than 14% of alcohol by volume, and of 1.5%, in the case of wines containing 14% or less of alcohol by volume, will be permitted either above or below the stated percentage.
      2. (ii) "Alcohol ______% to ______% by volume." Except as provided in clause (iii) of this subparagraph, a range of not more than 2.0%, in the case of wines containing more than 14% of alcohol by volume, and of not more than 3.0%, in the case of wines containing 14% or less of alcohol by volume, will be permitted between the minimum and maximum percentages stated, and no tolerance will be permitted either below such minimum or above such maximum.
      3. (iii) Regardless of the type of statement used and regardless of tolerances normally permitted in direct statements and ranges normally permitted in maximum and minimum statements, alcoholic content statements, whether required or optional, shall definitely and correctly conform with the class, type, and tax category of wine so labeled and nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the appearance upon the labels of any wine of an alcoholic content statement in terms of maximum and minimum percentages which overlaps a prescribed limitation on the alcoholic content of any class, type, or tax category of wine, or a direct statement of alcoholic content which indicates that the alcoholic content of the wine is within such a limitation when in fact it is not.

   2. (B) Net contents. Net contents for which a standard of fill is prescribed in §45.49 of this title (relating to Containers) shall be stated in the same manner and form in which such standard of fill is set forth in said section. If the metric system of measure is employed the contents shall be stated in liters or fractions of liters. All fractions shall be expressed in their lowest denominations. The net contents need not be stated on any label if the net contents are displayed by having the same blown or branded in the container on the same side of the container as the brand label, in letters or figures in such manner as to be plainly legible under ordinary circumstances, and such statement is not obscured in any manner in whole or in part. Statement of net contents shall indicate exactly the quantity of wine within the container, except that the following tolerances shall be allowed:

      1. (i) discrepancies due exclusively to errors in measuring which occur in filling conducted in compliance with good commercial practice;
      2. (ii) discrepancies due exclusively to differences in the capacity of containers, resulting solely from unavoidable difficulties in manufacturing such containers so as to be of uniform capacity; provided, that no greater tolerance shall be allowed in case of containers, which, because of their design, cannot be made of approximately uniform capacity than is allowed in case of containers which can be manufactured so as to be approximately uniform capacity;
      3. (iii) discrepancies in measure due to differences in atmospheric conditions in various places and which unavoidably result from the ordinary and customary exposure of alcoholic beverages in containers to evaporation. The reasonableness of discrepancies under this paragraph shall be determined on the facts in each case;
      4. (iv) unreasonable shortages in certain of the containers in any shipment shall not be compensated by overages in other containers in same shipment.

Source Note:The provisions of this §45.51 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976.