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When you see the alcohol percentage noted on the side of a bottle of wine, you probably don't think too much of it, but it may not be as accurate as you might think. The alcohol content is required by law by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau (TTB) to be listed on the front of a bottle, but there is a range allowed. The benchmark for the alcohol content of wine is 14% because that is the level at which taxes go up. For wines that have less than 14 percent alcohol by volume, they are allowed to have plus or minus 1.5% of the content listed. So, for example, a 12.5% wine could actually have either 11% or 14%, which can be a fairly significant different if you're having more than one glass with dinner. Wines over 14% alcohol are allowed to be plus or minus 1%.
In general, the more precisely the alcohol content is written, whether it is 12.9% or 14.2%, the more accurate it is likely to be. If nothing else, you can always estimate based on the 14% benchmark if you really need to know how much alcohol you're consuming.
