The TTB has revised its organic wine labeling policy. The following is the full TTB Policy Information Sheet on New Organic Wine Labeling Policies
Through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), TTB has been charged with implementing the organic program on behalf of AMS/USDA.
TTB would like to notify the industry that AMS, in the interest of clear disclosure to the consumer, has changed the labeling policies for wines which contain both organic and non-organic grapes.
Labeling Wine Containing Organic and Non-Organic Grapes
Wine labeled with a “Made with Organic Ingredients” statement, and which contains organic and non-organic grapes, must indicate the presence of non-organic grapes in the “Made with Organic…” statement on the label. The following variations to this statement are acceptable:
- “Made with Organic and Non-Organic Grapes”;
- “Made with Organic [variety] Grapes and Non-Organic [variety] Grapes”;
- “Made with _% Organic Grapes and _% Grapes”;
- “Made with _% Organic [variety] Grapes and _% Non-Organic [variety] Grapes”
In addition, wines restricted to an “Organic Ingredients” statement must indicate the presence of any non-organic grapes in the “Organic Ingredients” Statement. An example of such a statement is “Ingredients: Organic Merlot grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, tartaric acid.” As noted below, such a wine will also have to bear a Percentage statement.
Percentage Statements on Wine Restricted to an “Organic Ingredients” Statement
When a wine is restricted to an “Organic Ingredients” statement and contains non-organic ingredients such as in the example above, a Percentage Statement such as “55% Organic Ingredients” must also be present on the label. The Percentage Statement must appear on the information panel in proximity to the “Organic Ingredients” Statement. If a wine bears an “Organic Ingredients” Statement in which no disclosure of non-organic ingredients is made, such as “Ingredients: Organic Grapes,” then 100% of the ingredients in such wine must be organic.
Furthermore, according to the new organic wine labeling policy, when 100% of the ingredients are organic on a wine restricted to an “Organic Ingredients” statement, a Percentage Statement is prohibited in order to avoid consumer confusion with products meeting the “100% Organic Wine” standard.
What does organic mean, anyway?
What Does Organic Mean?
This useful bulletin explains quite plainly the definition of organic, what to buy and not to buy that is advertised as organic. It comes with a simple organic buying guide as well, giving tips on how to save money when buying organic and how to read the label as to whether a product is really organic or not.