Fire destroys truckload of wine on I-80.

How would you like to get that news from the truck drivers transporting your wine?   The fire broke out in the trailer’s refrigeration unit while being delivered. Perhaps you’re saying “Man that sucks. Glad it wasn’t me.”  The big question here is what if this had been you?  Are you prepared?  Equipment and property insurance – check.   But, what about the wine from vineyard to customer?  It is estimated that 90% of small wineries do not insure their bulk wine.

Even if you have insurance, do you have a plan if you were to lose a large amount of your supply?  There are many ways you can have a loss on wine….your product – the stuff that brings in your customers and the revenue!

A friend told me about a Texas winery who had this strange, but true disaster happen.  Wine is in the tank, being cooled to 60 during fermentation.  The cooling system is on, and the cooling jacket on the tank starts to frost, creating an ice layer around the tank.  Nothing out of the ordinary.   As the temperature of the tank begins to drop (overnight) the temperature sensor inside the tank hits the shut off temperature and the valve closes off the glycol circulating through the jacket.   Now the temperature inside the tank is higher than freezing and the ice starts to melt from the inside.  A large sheet of ice falls, hitting the valve just right so that it opens up, leaking wine out all night, going down the drain.  By the next morning all that is left of the 3000 gallon tank are stains on the floor.

Here’s another loss that happens at least once a year to a small winery.  A cellar hand goes to clean the tank.  The work order says clean Tank A.   As usual, he mixes up the caustic soda, hooks up the hose to the tank and starts it up.    Problem was he didn’t check the tank and it was still half full and now the wine is ruined.

Hope and prayer should not be your strategy to disaster recovery.  Whether it’s the unforeseen, unavoidable, act of God, or human error…loss happens.  But do you know what to do next? How are you going to run your winery with no wine or revenue?  What can you do to maintain your customer base?

1. Call your state’s alcoholic beverage commission or agency,
i.e. for Texas, the TABC
2. Call your insurance company
3. Contact Premier Wine Blends

If you have a plan, even as simple as the one above, then you can move forward without skipping a beat.  Your wine is valuable, even more so to a small winery.   One loss can be a substantial part of your entire year.   Simple preparation can ease the pain if a loss happens to you.