The Ongoing Deluge of New Wines Continues

With the exception of a couple artificial and organic blips, the trend toward a larger and larger product diversity in wine is ongoing

With the exception of wines that won’t be distributed or sold beyond the state in which they are produced, every wine must receive a COLA: Certificate of Label Approval from the Feds. Those newly issued COLAs are documented in the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s (TTB) COLA database. That database is searchable. That means there’s lots of very interesting information to be gleaned about the type, origin, and number of wines coming to market.

One thing, though. It’s not just new wines that are required to obtain a COLA. Existing wines that make substantial changes to their already approved labels must obtain a new COLA. New appellations, new label designs, and new back label copy are just a few of the changes that require new COLAs for wines already in the marketplace. As a result, the TTB’s COLA database is not a perfect source of information on new wines. However, it’s a darned good source as the great majority of wines that apply for and receive a COLA are in fact new wines.