If you look carefully at the label, many box wine are sold as “WINE with natural flavors” Which puts them in the category with sangria because they’re not legally wine.
Edited to add this note from the Treasury Department
“Table Wine With Natural Flavors" and "Grape Wine With Natural Flavors” are statements of composition. A statement like this is required on a wine label when a wine does not fall within any of the current standards of identity set forth in TTB wine labeling regulations at 27 CFR, Part 4, Subpart C (Grape Wine, Fruit Wine, Aperitif Wine, etc.). If a wine product does not fit a standard of identity, TTB requires under 27 CFR 4.34 that the product be designated with a “truthful and adequate statement of composition” on the brand label, and we have accepted statements such as “Table Wine With Natural Flavors” for that purpose. The statement of composition is not required to be a complete listing of ingredients.
TTB’s predecessor agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), proposed adding a category for “flavored wine products” to the standards of identity in Subpart C to distinguish these products from standard wines. While there was not adequate support for such a labeling change, ATF did find there was support for a prohibition on use of varietal designations (grape type, like “Chardonnay”), semigeneric geographic type designations (like “Chablis” or “Burgundy”), or geographic distinctive designations (like Bordeaux or Medoc) for wines not made in accordance with classes 1, 2, and 3, of that standards of identity (27 CFR 4.21(a‑c)). This means that these flavored wine products labeled with a statement of composition pursuant to 27 CFR 4.34 cannot use varietal, semigeneric geographic type, or geographic distinctive designations. That prohibition was placed in 27 CFR 4.34(a) and 4.39(n). (See Treasury Decision ATF-431 published October 6, 2000, 65 FR 59718 http://www.ttb.gov/rrd/td431.pdf for more information regarding the ATF and TTB position on the labeling of Flavored Wine Products.)
Therefore, you should not see a product with 7% or more alcohol by volume labeled “Chardonnay With Natural Flavors.” However, you may see wines with less than 7% alcohol by volume using one of these designations (e.g. “Tutti-Frutti Chardonnay”). That is because TTB’s consumer protection authority under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act extends only to wines with 7% or more alcohol by volume. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules apply to the labeling of wines with less than 7% alcohol by volume. For more information about FDA labeling requirements go to their website.
Last reviewed/updated: 04/20/2010
