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Title 26, Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-110

§5385 Specially Sweetened Natural 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 › § 5385

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines specially sweetened natural wine as a winemaker’s wine with added dry sugar or juice/concentrate from the same fruit so total solids are over 17 percent and alcohol is at most 14 percent, including extra‑sweet kosher. They can be blended only with wines of same fruit; may be cellar treated under applicable rules and cannot contain wine spirits.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5385

Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Definition
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)Cellar treatment
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

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110