Getting started

From tank to shelf

On this page11

One: establish the class and type Two: test the brand name against the geographic rule Three: choose a standard of fill Four: lay out the brand label Five: place the sulfite declaration Six: place the Government Warning Seven: specify the label stock and adhesive Why class and type comes first Label approval sits across all of it And the states come after References

What the wine legally is decides what it may be called.

One: establish the class and type

It is a mandatory brand-label element and it follows from what the wine actually is and how it was made. Designing a label around a designation the wine does not qualify for is the expensive order.

Two: test the brand name against the geographic rule

If the name carries geographic significance, the wine has to meet the appellation requirements for that area or the label has to carry a qualifying statement. This is worth settling before anything is printed or registered.

Three: choose a standard of fill

From the twenty-five, or above three litres in even litres. The size decides the bottle, the case, the shelf price and the type size of the Government Warning.

Four: lay out the brand label

Brand name and class and type together on it. Then decide where the name and address, the net contents and the alcohol content go, because those may move.

Five: place the sulfite declaration

Front, back, strip or neck label, where sulfur dioxide reaches 10 parts per million. That threshold is low enough that most wines carry it.

Six: place the Government Warning

Separate from everything else, on a contrasting background, at the type size the container volume requires.

Seven: specify the label stock and adhesive

It has to resist removal without water or solvent, and it will meet ice buckets and condensation. Brief the printer on the regulation rather than on the bottle.

Why class and type comes first

Because it is the element most likely to be wrong, it constrains the brand name, and it cannot be fixed with a sticker. Everything else is layout once it is settled.

Label approval sits across all of it

A wine label is approved before use, which means the sequence above produces a submission rather than a print run. Building in the time for that, and for a possible correction, is part of the schedule.

And the states come after

Federal approval is not distribution. Every state has its own regime for who may sell what to whom, and that is usually the longer half of getting a wine onto a shelf.

References

27 CFR 4.32, mandatory label information for wine. The brand label carries the brand name and the class, type or other designation. The name and address, the net contents and the alcohol content may appear on any label on the container. A sulfite declaration, "Contains sulfites" or an equivalent statement, appears on a front, back, strip or neck label where sulfur dioxide is detected at 10 parts per million or more. law.cornell.edu

27 CFR 4.39, prohibited practices. No statement "that is false or untrue in any particular, or that... tends to create a misleading impression"; no health statement untrue or misleading "as to the effects on health of alcohol consumption"; "old" permitted only as part of a brand name; a brand name of geographic significance only where the wine meets the appellation requirements or the label carries a qualifying statement; and no foreign terms denoting quality under foreign law, the regulation naming "Qualitatswein" and "Kabinett", on American wine. law.cornell.edu

27 CFR 4.72, metric standards of fill for wine. Twenty-five authorized sizes from 3 litres down to 50 millilitres, including 3 L, 2.25 L, 1.8 L, 1.5 L, 1 L and 750 mL. Above that: "Wine may be bottled or packed in containers of 4 liters or larger if the containers are filled and labeled in quantities of even liters (4 liters, 5 liters, 6 liters, etc.)." law.cornell.edu

Written from 27 CFR 4.32, 4.39 and 4.72, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. Wine is federally permitted, separately regulated by every state, and subject to label approval; permits, formula approval and appellation determinations are outside what these pages cover.