May 25th – National Wine Day & Wine Regulations

There is, it seems, a “national” day for everything. Whether the excuse just be marketing, or a genuine effort to appreciate an item, it is no reason not to celebrate.

There are many regulations related to wine, from labeling and advertising, to permits, to imports and shipping. The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) has links to laws, regulations, and public guidance all in one place, here.

Part of the function of the TTB is to designate grape-growing regions with distinguishable geographic features and boundaries as AVAs (American Viticultural Area’s). Using an AVA designation on a wine label allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers identify wines they may purchase.

The names and boundary descriptions for all established AVAs are described in the Code of Federal Regulations at 27 CFR part 9 and 27 CFR 4.25. The laws are complex and detailed. For example, the state name on a wine label is dependent on where the grapes come from, not where they are processed. In order to name an AVA on its label, 85% of the grapes used to make the wine must have been grown within the boundaries of the designated AVA. For a State to identified on the label however, only 75% of the grapes have to have been grown in state. Exceptions? Of course! California is unique in that for a wine to say it is a “California Wine”, 100% of the grapes used must be grown in state.

picture credit: WalletHub

You can see some great 3D maps of American Viticultural Areas here.

What about bottling? Of course there are regulations for that as well, including whether or not a metric label is required. In general, wine must be packaged in one of the standard sizes — 50 mL, 100 mL, 187 mL, 375 mL, 500 mL, 750 mL, 1 L, 1.5 L, 3 L, and larger integral multiples of liters.

For consumers, this means that one of the biggest (literally) decision one can make today is therefore what size bottle to get. In general, larger wine bottle sizes are well-suited to a longer aging of wine, because of the smaller ratio of SO2 gas, (sulphur dioxide and oxygen) that occupies the space at the top of the bottle between the cork and the wine. The less air the surface of the wine is exposed to, the slower the wine will develop. However, very large bottles are very heavy.

Winemakers carry Britain’s biggest ever bottle of English sparkling wine, produced by the Chapel Down Winery in Kent. The bottle is a unique, 15-litre Nebuchadnezzar of Chapel Down’s gold medal-winning Blanc de Blancs 2007 sparkling wine. Photo credit: Hugo Philpott/PA Wire

A standard wine bottle holds 750 milliliters of wine, supposedly the perfect amount for two people to share. But there are other options, including, but not limited to:

The split (187 milliliters) Also known as Piccolo. (1/4 bottle) – 1 glass of wine

Half-bottle (375 milliliters) (2 glasses)

Magnum – holds the equivalent of two standard bottles (1.5 liters)

Double Magnum – 4 bottles (3 liters)

Jeroboam – equivalent of four bottles in a bottle of sloping shoulders (3 liters) for Champagne, or equivalent of six bottles with high shoulders (4.5 liters) for still wine. U.S. regulations limiting larger bottles to even-numbered liter sizes mean some ‘Jeroboams’ are now 5 liters or 6.67 bottles.

Rehoboam – six bottles with sloped shoulders

[Who knew wine bottles had shoulders?!!]

A Burgundy slope shouldered wine bottle

Imperial – eight bottles in one (6 liters)

Methuselah – eight bottles (6 liters) in one in a bottle wth sloped shoulders and usually reserved for sparkling wine.

Salmanazar – 12 bottles (9 liters)

Balthazar – 16 bottles (12 liters)

Nebuchadnezzar – 20 bottles (15 liters)

Melchior – 24 bottle equivalent (18 liters)

Melchizedek – 40 bottles

Who are these people for whom the bottle sizes are named? Most of them are biblical figures.

Jeroboam was Founder and first king of Israel, 931-910 BC.

Rehoboam, a son of Solomon and a grandson of David. Rehoboam himself reigned for 17 years, had 18 wives and 60 concubines. They bore him 28 sons and 60 daughters. He undoubtedly had many occasion to hit the wine bottle.

Bordeaux. The standard “high shouldered”  Bordeaux wine bottle

Methuselah is named for the oldest man mentioned by age in the Bible, allegedly living to the age of 969. He was also Noah’s grandfather. (Some scholars believe Methuselah’s given age is the result of an ancient mistranslation that converted “months” to “years”, producing a more credible 969 lunar months, or 78½ years.)

Nebuchadnezzar actually is a reference to Nebuchadnezzar the Second, who was the King of Babylon from 605-562 B.C. Both the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple are ascribed to him.

Melchizedek is named for the King of Peace in the Book of Genesis. Notably, Genesis 14:18 reports: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was [is] the priest of the most high God.”

Balthazar and Melchior are names of two of the Three Wise Men from the New Testament. (The third was Caspar – why no bottle for him? Well, at least he got venerated as a Catholic saint, even if he has no bottle.)

What about boxed wine? Yes, again, of course there are regulations! You can read about them here. You can also check this site for “Open Bottle Take Home Laws by State.”

Happy National Wine Day!!