Comparing winery software for New Zealand
Winery software in New Zealand compared: Vinsight, vintrace, HortPlus MetWatch and GrapeFlow
Four tools a Kiwi grower or winemaker is likely to come across. Vinsight, out of Auckland, covers winery production, stock and sales. vintrace, from Encompass Technologies and started in Australia, is a winery management system. HortPlus MetWatch is a New Zealand weather and disease-modelling service with models for grapes. GrapeFlow, younger and smaller, puts blocks, sprays and cellar work under one subscription at 99 USD/month per winery. What we say about the other three was read on their websites on 31 October 2026. Short version: sales, stock and Xero together point to Vinsight; making wine for clients points to vintrace; disease models running on New Zealand station data point to MetWatch.
- 90-day free trial
- No credit card required
- No per-user fees
The four, feature by feature
Every cell about another vendor is taken from that vendor’s site, checked 31 October 2026. Where a cell reads “Not found on the pages we read”, our listed pages were silent — the feature may still exist.
| Vinsight | vintrace | HortPlus MetWatch | GrapeFlow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Listed on its Pricing and Plans page | No public price; a live demo is offered on request | Listed on its site, charged per user | 99 USD a month or 990 USD a year for each winery before tax, any number of users |
| Vineyard records | Spray diaries, operation worksheets, soil, met and growth-stage records | vintrace Vineyard: planning of work, harvest tracking, maps, data capture on mobile | Not found on the pages we read (it is a weather and disease-model service) | Blocks with phenology, ripening samples and field notes |
| Spray diary | Spray diaries | Not found on the pages we read | Not found on the pages we read | Logged by block with product, active ingredient, rate, area, re-entry and pre-harvest intervals; prints on demand; intake warns when fruit arrives inside a pre-harvest interval |
| Disease models | Not found on the pages we read | “Pest and disease forecasts” inside vintrace Vineyard | Botrytis (Bacchus, Broome), downy and powdery mildew, driven by New Zealand weather station data | Downy and powdery mildew risk for each block from modelled weather, meant as a decision aid |
| New Zealand reporting (SWNZ, WSMP, excise) | Excise tax, WET tax and compliance features; no New Zealand-specific reports named on the pages we read | “Manage your compliance requirements”; New Zealand-specific reports not found on the pages we read | Not found on the pages we read | Holds the records SWNZ, your verifier and Customs look at; files nothing with SWNZ, MPI or Customs, and no excise calculation |
| Cellar and traceability | Winery worksheets, blend tracking, fermentation data, bulk-to-bottled traceability, product recall | Work orders, tanks, barrels, analyses, fruit intake, bottling, dry goods | Not found on the pages we read | Tanks, barrels, amphorae; transfers, blends, additions, ferments and lab results; bottling; a block-to-bottle PDF for recalls and a public QR page for each bottled lot |
| Accounting and costing | Xero add-on; stock costing and valuation, COGS reporting | QuickBooks and Xero listed as integration partners | Not found on the pages we read | Neither: no link to accounting software, no costing |
| Sales, inventory and DTC | Sales and inventory app; Shopify, WooCommerce, Commerce7, Lightspeed; Foodstuffs EDI; WineWorks and other logistics | Purchasing, sales and client invoicing; eCommerce partners | Not found on the pages we read | Tracks bottled stock, nothing more — selling, DTC and online shops are out of scope |
| Contract winemaking | Not found on the pages we read | A New Zealand client story about custom crush with client access | Not found on the pages we read | Not available |
| Mobile | Cloud-hosted; works on phones, tablets and computers (iOS, Android, Mac, PC) | vintrace Mobile app | Not found on the pages we read | Opens in any phone browser; there is no app to download |
| Who it’s for | “From craft producer to multi-national”; distilleries and breweries as well | 7,600 winemaking team members across 19 countries | Growers across several crops including grapes; “Made in New Zealand” | Wineries that farm their own grapes; screens in English or Portuguese |
Vinsight, vintrace, HortPlus and MetWatch belong to their respective owners (Vinsight Software trades under St Francis Wine Company Limited; vintrace is owned by Encompass Technologies). GrapeFlow has no connection with any of them. Products evolve, so confirm details on the vendors’ own sites.
What the others do better
Vinsight: selling, stock and Xero
Sales, warehousing and stock valuation sit next to production in Vinsight, which posts to Xero, works out WET and excise, and hooks into Shopify, Commerce7, Foodstuffs EDI and New Zealand logistics firms. The team is in Auckland and supports on local hours. None of that commercial or accounting work is in GrapeFlow.
vintrace: making wine for clients, at size
There is a published New Zealand custom-crush story with limited access for clients, a native phone app, and QuickBooks and Xero among its partners. With 7,600 winemaking users in 19 countries it has a far bigger and longer track record than GrapeFlow.
MetWatch: measured local weather
Its grape disease models, botrytis among them, run on readings from New Zealand weather stations. GrapeFlow works from modelled weather with leaf wetness estimated, and offers no botrytis model at all.
Reasons a grower-winemaker chooses GrapeFlow
A published price, no sales call
99 USD a month or 990 USD a year covers the whole business with all modules and unlimited users; try it free for 90 days without entering a card.
Sprays and cellar in the same records
The block on the spray log is the block on the weigh ticket, so fruit picked too soon after a spray is caught when it reaches the winery.
Trace any lot both ways
Each lot links back to its blocks; the recall PDF names every bottling run that used it, and every bottled lot can have its own public QR page.
Written around New Zealand records
See how it lines up with WSMP, SWNZ and export record-keeping, and which parts remain your job.
GrapeFlow in New Zealand →
Sources
The vendor pages behind every Vinsight, vintrace and HortPlus MetWatch statement above, all read on 31 October 2026.
- Vinsight — home page (modules, customers)
- Vinsight — winery software (features, devices)
- Vinsight — production app
- Vinsight — pricing and plans
- Vinsight — integrations
- Vinsight — Xero add-on
- Vinsight — contact us (company and address)
- vintrace — Encompass Technologies product page
- vintrace — about us
- vintrace — winery management (wine production software)
- vintrace — vintrace Vineyard
- vintrace — New Zealand Wineries client story (custom crush)
- HortPlus — home page
- HortPlus — MetWatch (grape models, pricing)
One price for the whole winery
99 USD/month, or 990 USD/year (two months free), excluding taxes. Vineyard, cellar, traceability and the spray diary are all included, with no per-user fees. 90-day free trial, no credit card required.
Start the 90-day trialFrequently asked questions
Is GrapeFlow cheaper than Vinsight or vintrace?
We leave other vendors’ figures off this page. Vinsight shows its prices on its site; vintrace quotes after a demo. GrapeFlow is 99 USD a month or 990 USD a year per winery, all in. Ask each for a quote on your own setup, bearing in mind that Vinsight and vintrace also handle sales and accounting, which GrapeFlow leaves out.
Is GrapeFlow a Vinsight alternative?
In the vineyard and cellar it can be: blocks, spray records, harvest intake, tanks, blends, bottling and traceability. For sales orders, warehousing, stock valuation and Xero it can’t — there is no sales or accounting module, so Vinsight suits a winery that wants those in one place.
Can I move from Vinsight or vintrace to GrapeFlow?
Blocks, tanks, harvest receptions and finished products come in by CSV import. Past lot histories don’t transfer; you enter the bulk and bottled wine you hold today as opening balances and carry on from there.
Does GrapeFlow file anything with SWNZ, MPI or Customs?
It doesn’t. The spray and cellar records behind your SWNZ return, WSMP verification and audits live in GrapeFlow, but nothing is sent from it, excise and WET aren’t calculated, and it issues no export eligibility, E-cert or transport paperwork.
Do I have to book a demo to try GrapeFlow?
No booking needed: create an account and you get 90 days free, no card, with the full app on your own blocks and tanks. A demo with made-up data is also open to anyone.
How much does GrapeFlow cost?
99 USD monthly or 990 USD yearly (the yearly plan saves two months), plus taxes. That single per-winery price includes every module and any number of users, after a 90-day trial that needs no credit card.