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Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-110

§5383 Amelioration and Sweetening Limitations for Natural Grape Wines

Title 26 › Subtitle E — Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › CHAPTER 51 — DISTILLED SPIRITS, WINES, AND BEER › Subchapter F — Bonded and Taxpaid Wine Premises › PART III — CELLAR TREATMENT AND CLASSIFICATION OF WINE › § 5383

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Winemakers may sweeten natural grape wine after fermentation and before tax payment using pure dry sugar or liquid sugar. The finished wine must have total solids no more than 12% by weight and alcohol no more than 14% by volume. If liquid sugar is used, the final volume cannot be larger than what would result from the maximum allowed use of dry sugar alone. For wines made from juice with natural fixed acid over 5 parts per thousand (as tartaric acid), the winemaker may add ameliorating materials (pure dry sugar, liquid sugar, water, or a mix) before, during, or after fermentation for wines they produce. Those additions must not lower the fixed acid below 5 parts per thousand and cannot make up more than 35% of the combined volume of juice plus additions (excluding pulp). After that, the producer may sweeten the wine so long as total solids do not exceed 17% by weight if alcohol is over 14% by volume, or 21% by weight if alcohol is 14% or less. Liquid sugar use is limited the same way. Wine spirits can only be added if the wine’s fermentation-derived alcohol is not more than 14% by volume.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5383

Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Sweetening of grape wines
Any natural grape wine may be sweetened after fermentation and before taxpayment with pure dry sugar or liquid sugar if the total solids content of the finished wine does not exceed 12 percent of the weight of the wine and the alcoholic content of the finished wine after sweetening is not more than 14 percent by volume; except that the use under this subsection of liquid sugar shall be limited so that the resultant volume will not exceed the volume which could result from the maximum authorized use of pure dry sugar only.
(b)High acid wines
(1)Amelioration
Before, during, and after fermentation, ameliorating materials consisting of pure dry sugar or liquid sugar, water, or a combination of sugar and water, may be added to natural grape wines of a winemaker’s own production when such wines are made from juice having a natural fixed acid content of more than five parts per thousand (calculated before fermentation and as tartaric acid). Ameliorating material so added shall not reduce the natural fixed acid content of the juice to less than five parts per thousand, nor exceed 35 percent of the volume of juice (calculated exclusive of pulp) and ameliorating material combined.
(2)Sweetening
Any wine produced under this subsection may be sweetened by the producer thereof, after amelioration and fermentation, with pure dry sugar or liquid sugar if the total solids content of the finished wine does not exceed (A) 17 percent by weight if the alcoholic content is more than 14 percent by volume, or (B) 21 percent by weight if the alcoholic content is not more than 14 percent by volume. The use under this paragraph of liquid sugar shall be limited to cases where the resultant volume does not exceed the volume which could result from the maximum authorized use of pure dry sugar only.
(3)Wine spirits
Wine spirits may be added (whether or not wine spirits were previously added) to wine produced under this subsection only if the wine contains not more than 14 percent of alcohol by volume derived from fermentation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5383, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 669, consisted of provisions similar to those comprising this section, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 85–859.

Amendments

1968—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 90–619, § 3(b), substituted “not more than 14 percent” for “less than 14 percent”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 90–619, § 3(a), simplified production procedures and calculations, provided that the limitation on sweetening high acid wine is to be based upon the total solids content of the finished wine, authorized the use of liquid sugar but only to the extent that it did not increase the total volume of the finished wine above what it would be if the maximum authorized use had been made of dry sugar only, and inserted provisions making it clear that wine spirits may be added at more than one stage in the process of wine production. 1965—Pub. L. 89–44 divided subsec. (b) relating to high acid wines into pars. (1) and (2) and par. (2) into subpars. (A) to (E), struck out reserve inventory requirement with respect to the amelioration and sweetening of wines, authorized use of other than pure, dry sugar, and allowed limited use of liquid sugar at appropriate points where use of pure dry sugar had formerly been prescribed.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1968 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–619 effective on first day of first month which begins 90 days or more after Oct. 22, 1968, see section 6 of Pub. L. 90–619, set out as a note under section 5373 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1965 Amendment Pub. L. 89–44, title VIII, § 806(d)(2), June 21, 1965, 79 Stat. 164, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by subsections (b) and (c) [amending this section and section 5382, 5384, 5385, and 5392] shall take effect on January 1, 1966.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 5383

Title 26, Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110