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Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§5385 Specially Sweetened Natural Wines

Title 26 › Subtitle 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 › § 5385

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Specially sweetened natural wine is wine a winemaker makes from their own natural wine by adding enough pure dry sugar or fruit juice (or concentrated juice) from the same kind of fruit to push total solids above 17 percent by weight, while keeping alcohol at no more than 14 percent by volume. Extra sweet kosher wine and similar heavily sweetened wines count. These wines may be blended with each other, with natural wine, or with heavy bodied blending wine, but only into more specially sweetened natural wine and only if all the wines come from the same kind of fruit. Adding wine spirits is not allowed.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5385

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Specially sweetened natural wine is the product made by adding to natural wine of the winemaker’s own production a sufficient quantity of pure dry sugar, or juice or concentrated juice from the same kind of fruit, separately or in combination, to produce a finished product having a total solids content in excess of 17 percent by weight and an alcoholic content of not more than 14 percent by volume, and shall include extra sweet kosher wine and similarly heavily sweetened wines.
(b)Specially sweetened natural wines may be blended with each other, or with natural wine or heavy bodied blending wine in the further production of specially sweetened natural wine only, if the wines so blended are made from the same kind of fruit. Wines produced under this section may be cellar treated under the provisions of section 5382(a) and (c). Wine spirits may not be added to specially sweetened natural wine.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5385, act Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 671, 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, § 4, authorized cellar treatment of specially sweetened natural wines, special natural wines, and agricultural wines. 1965—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–44 substituted “total solids content in excess of 17” for “sugar solids content in excess of 15”.

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 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 89–44 effective Jan. 1, 1966, see section 806(d)(2) of Pub. L. 89–44, set out as a note under section 5383 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 5385

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73