Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/172581
wine labeling "responsible drinking decisions."1 TTB responded to the petition by issuing an "Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" in April 2005. 3 Notice No. 41 solicited commentary from industry members regarding the petition and the inclusion of a "Serving Facts" panel on alcoholic beverage products that would list the amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates and protein per serving on alcoholic beverage labels. In addition, TTB requested input regarding serving size and alcohol-perserving disclosures, and the agency specifically requested feedback regarding the inclusion of the graphics at the bottom of this label (see Figure 2). After reviewing the public comments responding to Notice No. 41, the TTB concluded that even though disclosure of alcohol in fluid ounces may not be "inherently misleading," consumers were accustomed to seeing alcohol content expressed as a percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) and may be "confused by a statement of alcohol in fluid ounces, without some context in which to evaluate the information."4 TTB also concluded that the "equivalency" graphic found in Figure 2 could be misleading and therefore would not be included in any proposed Serving Facts 145 Jordan Street • panel. 4 TTB noted that wineries had "strongly opposed" the graphic and pointed out that the distilled spirits trade association often used such equivalency statements in an attempt "to achieve parity with wine and beer in various regulated areas such as taxes, access to markets (and) advertising." 4 In addition, producers could choose to include the number of fluid ounces of pure alcohol per serving, but only if the ABV was also included on the panel. TTB also proposed two different reference serving size for wines: 5 ounces per serving for wines of 14% alcohol by volume or less, and 2.5 ounces for wines with more than 14% ABV. The Wine Institute submitted a 34-page response to Notice No. 73 in January 2008. The Institute opposed making the inclusion of a Serving Facts panel mandatory and also argued that TTB should not consider 2.5 ounces to be the standard serving size for all wines with more than 14% ABV. 5 Instead, the Institute argued that the 5-ounce serving size was appropriate for all wines up to 16% ABV. In addition, the Institute claimed that statements of fluid ounces of alcohol per serving were inherently confusing and should be prohibited. The Distilled Spirits Council disagreed.6 In its letter to TTB, the Council stated that requiring a statement of calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein per serving, "without requiring a similar statement about the amount of alcohol in that serving, simply is inadequate." Several years passed without any further rulemaking action from TTB regarding the Serving Facts issue. Figure 3 is an example of a 750ml wine bottle label that includes the alcohol by volume (ABV) and amount of alcohol per serving. In 2007, TTB issued another Advanced Notice of Public Rulemaking regarding Serving Facts statements. In Notice No. 73, TTB proposed new regulations that would require alcoholic beverages to carry a Serving Facts panel listing the calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein per serving. San Rafael, CA 94901 • 415-457-3955 • Fax 457-0304 • www.boswellcompany.com pr actica l win ery & vin eya r d O CTO B ER 20 13 63