Vineyard-to-bottle traceability for small wineries

Most small wineries track grapes from vineyard to bottle with a mix of weigh tags, cellar logs and spreadsheets. Winery software such as InnoVint, vintrace, Ekos or GrapeFlow replaces that with one lot record. It starts at the vineyard block and follows every transfer, blend, addition and lab analysis until the wine is in the bottle.

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One lot record, from the tank it sits in back to the grapes it came from. Demo data — Ridgeline Cellars is a fictional winery.

What “vineyard to bottle” actually means

Traceability is a chain, and it only works if no link is missing:

  1. Block. Variety, location, and the spray and field records for the season.

  2. Harvest. Each pick is received against its block: tons, °Brix and date on the weigh tag.

  3. Lot. The fruit becomes a lot in a tank or a set of barrels.

  4. Cellar work. Every racking, addition, topping and blend is logged against the lot, with volumes in gallons.

  5. Lab. Alcohol, TA, pH, VA and free SO₂ are attached to the lot on the date they were taken.

  6. Bottling. The bottling run closes the lot and links it to the bottles.

BlockVariety · field recordsHarvestTons · °Brix · dateTankLot · gallonsBlend% by block & varietyBottleQR per bottle↓ Forward: where did this lot go?↑ Backward: what is in this bottle?

When every step is recorded, you can read the chain in both directions.

Two questions you should be able to answer in a minute

  • Backward: what is in this bottle?

    Start from a bottling lot and walk back through blends and transfers to the blocks and picks it came from, with the percentage each one contributes.

  • Forward: where did this lot go?

    Start from a block or a tank and find every blend and every bottling that contains it.

These are the questions a recall, a customer complaint or an auditor will ask. In a spreadsheet they take an afternoon. In GrapeFlow they take a search.

Does FSMA 204 apply to wine? →

How GrapeFlow traces a lot

  • Harvest receiving by block

    Weigh tags in US tons and °Brix, each tied to the block it came from.

  • Lot genealogy

    Blends keep their composition, so a lot always knows it is, for example, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon from two blocks and 15% Merlot.

    Try the free blending calculator →

  • Full vessel history

    Every tank and barrel shows what was in it, for how long, and when it was cleaned and verified.

  • Additions with the maths done

    Enter the rate, and the dose comes out for the lot’s real volume. The addition is logged on the lot.

  • Lab analyses on the lot

    Analyses stay attached to the lot, so the history of a wine is one page.

  • Bottling closes the loop

    A bottling run links the finished lot to its bottles.

  • A QR on every bottle

    Each bottle can scan to its story: vineyard, harvest and winemaking.

  • Records you can trust

    Movements are kept in an append-only history, so past records aren’t silently overwritten.

Spreadsheets vs. winery software

How spreadsheets and GrapeFlow compare for lot traceability
CriterionSpreadsheetsGrapeFlow
Lot history in one placeSpread across tabs and filesOne page per lot
Blend compositionRecalculated by handKept automatically, by block and variety
Backward/forward traceHours, error-proneA search
Several people in the cellarVersion conflictsSame live data for everyone
Audit trailCells can be overwrittenAppend-only history
CostFree, plus your time$99/month, all included

Built by a winemaker

GrapeFlow is built by Luís Patrão, a winemaker and enologist with more than 20 years in vineyards and cellars. It is designed around how a small winery actually works: one person often runs the vineyard, the cellar and the paperwork.

One price, everything included

$99/month, or $990/year. Vineyard and winery modules are both included. No per-seat pricing. 30-day free trial, no credit card.

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See pricing and the app →

Frequently asked questions

What software do wineries use to track grapes from vineyard to bottle?

Many small wineries still use spreadsheets, paper cellar logs and weigh tags. Winery management software such as InnoVint, vintrace, Ekos and GrapeFlow keeps a single lot record from the vineyard block through harvest, cellar operations and lab analyses to bottling, so the full history can be traced in both directions.

What is lot traceability in a winery?

It is the ability to say exactly which vineyard blocks and harvest picks are in a given wine, and which wines and bottlings contain a given lot. That works only if every transfer, blend and addition is recorded against the lot.

Do US wineries need traceability records?

TTB requires bonded wineries to keep production and inventory records. The FDA’s FSMA 204 food traceability rule generally does not apply to wine-only wineries, because wine isn’t on the Food Traceability List. Good lot records are still the fastest way to handle a recall or a quality complaint.

Does GrapeFlow work in gallons, tons and °Brix?

Yes. The US version uses US tons for harvest, gallons for tanks and °Brix for must throughout.

Can customers see where their wine comes from?

Yes. Each bottle can carry a QR code that opens its story: the vineyard, the harvest and the winemaking behind it.

How much does GrapeFlow cost?

$99/month or $990/year, with every module included and no per-seat pricing. There is a 30-day free trial and no credit card is required.