§5386 — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

§5386 Special 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 › § 5386

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows wines to be called special natural wines when they are made only from a natural wine base and follow an approved recipe. Natural herbs, spices, fruit juices, aromatics, essences, and other natural flavorings can be added before, during, or after fermentation in amounts that make the finished product clearly different from plain natural wine. The wine may be carbonated or not, and may include pure dry sugar, a sugar-and-water solution, or caramel, alone or in combination. No extra wine spirits or other spirits may be added except what is already in the base wine or what is needed to make approved flavorings. The Secretary may limit the Brix (sugar concentration) of any sugar solution by regulation. These wines may also receive the cellar treatments allowed under the law’s cellar-treatment rules.

Title 26, §5386

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Special natural wines are the products made, pursuant to a formula approved under this section, from a base of natural wine (including heavy-bodied blending wine) exclusively, with the addition, before, during or after fermentation, of natural herbs, spices, fruit juices, aromatics, essences, and other natural flavorings in such quantities or proportions as to enable such products to be distinguished from any natural wine not so treated, and with or without carbon dioxide naturally or artificially added, and with or without the addition, separately or in combination, of pure dry sugar or a solution of pure dry sugar and water, or caramel. No added wine spirits or alcohol or other spirits shall be used in any wine under this section except as may be contained in the natural wine (including heavy-bodied blending wine) used as a base or except as may be necessary in the production of approved essences or similar approved flavorings. The Brix degree of any solution of pure dry sugar and water used may be limited by regulations prescribed by the Secretary in accordance with good commercial practice.

(b)Special natural wines may be cellar treated under the provisions of section 5382(a) and (c).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 5386, 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

1976—Pub. L. 94–455 struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing. 1968—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 90–619 inserted reference to subsec. (a) of section 5382.

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.