The TTB requires all alcoholic beverages to have a net contents statement. They also require this statement to be in metric amounts, and very specific metric amounts by the container’s volume. For example the most common bottle size we used to seeing holds 750 milliliters, and is required to be identified as that specific metric amount, so in other words not 75 centiliters. For bottles larger than 1 liter in capacity they are required to be stated in liters and in decimal portions of a liter down to the nearest one-hundredth of a liter. Such detail! The TTB wants to ensure that the wine buying consumer is getting their money’s worth, and also along those lines they have detailed tolerance ranges for how far off a bottle’s fill amount can be from what is posted on its label. Again for that same 750 ml bottle the tolerance range is 2%, or 15 mls.
The other detail many of you as wine drinkers have likely noticed on this topic is that the bottle contents are often blown into the glass at the bottom of the bottle. The TTB does allow for this, however it is only allowed if they are blown into the side of the bottle, if they are blown into the punt of the bottle (the indentation on the bottom of the bottle) this is not kosher.
In continuing on with this series I will begin covering in more detail many other common label items but this time these are all items that are not required to appear.
First non-required item: Varietal