Winemaking is a practical and overwhelming occupation. Between dealing with vines and harvests and blending and bottling and selling, it is plenty of work to attend to. Sometimes, spreadsheets and paper records cannot meet the demands of growing wineries and increasing the complexity of tasks.
This is why businesses are looking for winery software. Proper digital tools can save time, prevent mistakes, and operate your business more smoothly, beginning at the vineyard and ending at the tasting room.
This guide is here to ensure that you know what winery software can do, what features it is important to have, and how to find the best solution depending on your objectives, size of your team and your budget.
What is Winery Software?
Winery software is computer technology that will assist in the management of all aspects of the winery. It helps in keeping track of the vineyards, keeping records of fermentation and inventory, sales and reporting compliance.
You have a single location to handle harvest data, cellar operations, wine stocks, sales data, and government returns, instead of having to move the data in and out of various applications or on paper. CRM capabilities can also be found in some of the tools to aid in managing wine clubs and interacting with customers.
Why You Should Invest in Winery Software?
Winery software helps businesses to save time, automates tasks, and even cuts costs. Here are some of the benefits of using it:
- Track Crop Maturity: Modern winery software lets you monitor sugar levels (Brix), acidity, and phenolic ripeness across vineyard blocks. This helps winemakers pick at the perfect time and avoid guesswork during harvest.
- Stay Compliant with Regulations: Government reporting, particularly on TTB and state law, is complicated. This is easier with good winery software, which can generate reports, track necessary information, and keep audit trails. This minimizes the possibility of penalties or dismissed submissions.
- Manage Barrel Aging: This feature will provide you with the ability to track barrel aging, enter tasting notes, and blend down to the gallon. You can schedule bottling processes with complete insight into inventory and quality measures.
- Optimize Wine Club and DTC Operations: Winery tools offer integrated wine club management, POS for tasting rooms, and eCommerce features. You can automate shipments, manage member preferences, and offer personalized promotions - improving retention and boosting DTC revenue.
- Reduce Inventory Losses with Real-Time Tracking: Glass bottles, corks, cases of finished wine, real-time inventory tracking helps you never over-order, never run out. Teams are alerted of low inventory or out of stock products before it affects the production line.
Must-Have Features in WInery Software
When choosing winery software, make sure it includes these must-have features to keep your entire operation running smoothly:
- Vineyard Management: The winery program you choose must be used to manage all vineyard blocks and rows, varietals, spray history, pest history and harvest projections. This will keep you ahead of the fieldwork, enhance the health of crops, and keep within agricultural standards.
- Harvest Planning and Forecasting: Best winery software can help you estimate the date and quantity of the harvest based on current vineyard information and historical harvests. This gives you time to plan labor, equipment, and cellar space long beforehand.
- Cellar Operations: Ensure that the tool lets you create and maintain work orders to perform operations such as pump-overs, additions, and rackings. Also, you must be able to monitor tank, barrel usage, blending, and fermentation information at a single location.
- Inventory Management: The vineyard management software should help you manage everything - raw materials, bulk wine, bottled wine, and dry goods. It must support multi-location tracking and give you full visibility into inventory at any stage.
- Compliance and Reporting: Choose a tool that simplifies TTB and state-level reporting. It must offer correct 5120.17 and 5120.18 forms and maintain elaborate audit trails to ensure that you can comply with the rules without any worry.
- Wholesale and POS Integration: Look for software that monitors wholesale selling and pricing levels and distributor associations. It will need to connect with your POS system to flow sales information into your reports.
- WCRM and Marketing Tools: The winery software must allow you to create customer profiles, follow-up purchases, and target your audience to market. There are even some tools assisting with automated emails, seasonal promotions, and loyalty programs.
Key Considerations When Choosing Winery Software
Before you buy winery software, consider these factors.
- Budget and Pricing Models: Be aware of what you are paying. There are tools that bill monthly and those that require a one-time payment. Look at any hidden expenses such as set-up, training and support. Ensure that the pricing will suit your present size and future.
- Scalability for Future Growth: Does the software scale according to your production? Select a tool that allows you to add users/locations or modules in the future. It must be conducive to growth without having you change platforms.
- Ease of Use and Interface: This is what your staff will be working with every day. Select software with a simple layout, easy navigation and little training. An easy to operate tool will accelerate the process and prevent frustration.
- Integration with Existing Systems: As a general rule, ensure the tool has connectivity with existing systems (e.g., accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero), POS systems, or your eCommerce site).
- Vendor Support and Reputation: Research on vendor reviews, case studies, and testimonials. Having a good support team available that responds promptly can go a long way once you have problems.
- Customization Options: Each winery is unique. The software is expected to allow you to customize workflows, labels, reports, or fields to meet your own operations.
- Data Migration Process: Inquire about what the tool will do with your existing data. Is migration easy? Will the vendor assist in the transfer of past records? This is essential when you are coming out of spreadsheets or a different system.
Top Winery Software Comparison Table
Here’s a comparison table of best winery management software:
| Winery Software Cost Comparison |
| Software | Key Features | Best For | Cloud-Based | Price |
| Vintrace | Vineyard tracking, compliance reports, barrel & tank management | Mid to large wineries | Yes | Available on request |
| InnoVint | Vineyard-to-bottle workflow, mobile app, real-time data logging | Boutique to mid-size wineries | Yes | Available on request |
| Ekos | Inventory, production, and sales tracking, DTC support | Small to medium wineries | Yes | Available on request |
| 360Winery | CRM, POS, inventory, and production tools in one platform | All-in-one for growing wineries | Yes | Available on request |
| Fermsoft | Advanced fermentation tracking, lab data integration | Wineries focused on fermentation data | No | Start at $60 /Month |
| Crafted ERP | End-to-end winery management, finance, inventory, vineyard tracking | Enterprise-level wineries | Yes | Available on request |
| VinNOW | Tasting room sales, wine club, order processing | Small wineries with tasting rooms | No | Starts at $69/month |
| Vinsight | Inventory, cost tracking, compliance, mobile vineyard management | Small to mid-sized wineries | Yes | Starts at $59 /Month |
| WineDirect | Ecommerce, wine club, fulfillment, DTC tools | Wineries focused on DTC and online | Yes | Starts at $79 /Month |
| Process2Wine | Vineyard and cellar management, compliance, workflow automation | European wineries and data-heavy ops | Yes | Available on request |
How Do We Evaluate and Select the Best Winery Software for You?
At Techjockey we take a user-first, hands-on approach to assist you in identifying the most suitable winery software to your operations. We start with the essential functionalities of each tool, such as vineyard tracking, fermentation, inventory, sales modules, compliance tools, and reporting.
Our solutions are geared towards making life easier and ease of data entry (manual), and enhance accuracy in production, bottling, and sales. We also evaluate the functionality of the software with respect to tasting rooms, wine clubs, and DTC or wholesale.
We also factor in features, pricing flexibility, customer reviews, and growth supportability of the tool. By doing this, we simply prescribe what suits your winery in terms of size, style, and long-term objectives.
Why Choose Techjockey for the Best Winery Software?
Techjockey can find you the best winery software without the hassle. We assist you in comparing the most effective tools regardless of whether you operate a small boutique winery or a large-scale estate.
Our professionals provide free demos, sincere advice, and custom-made recommendations regarding your business size or volume of production, channels of sale, compliance requirements, and budget. No technology skills are required, we take you through all the processes, including shortlisting and onboarding.
Find the Right Winery Software by Category
Explore the different categories of Winery Software in India to find the best solution for your business needs.