Thoughts on starting very small winery.

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whsoj

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Im looking for thoughts on starting a country fruit winery and meadery. Were I live in nc semi sec fruit wines "Blueberry, Strawberry Blackberry" are very popular. But I dont see any 100% fruit wines commercially avalible, I only see blends. I know nothing about grape growing and cant invest that much money to wait 10+ year for Merlot vines to mature. Im not really looking to make a ton of money, just enough to pay for its self. Just wondering if any of you think it might worth going through the red tape and licensing. Any comments are welcome even calling me an idiot. Thanks in advance.
 
Dear Idiot, LMAO only kidding. If you have access to the fruits get grape juice is no problem for making your blends. Walker's ship all over the country any amount you want. Additionally many wineries do the same thing.
 
if you don't pay yourself you may be able to break even after a few years. I had a small commercial winery I sold to my partner for health reasons. His daughter took over and seems to be doing well although I don't have access to the books. I would suggest some financial planning before you jump. also expect to work some hours to achieve your dream. It is best to buy all of your product fruit and grapes. good contracts will insure a good product and it is less costly. also you can concentrate on wine making and not farming. Talk to wineries in the area they will be glad to share there thoughts.
 
The trick here is the startup costs. Depending on your area, and how friendly your town is to the idea, this can cost way more than you might think. I honestly can not see how a commercial operation (one that simply is allowed to manufacture and distribute) can be set up cheaply.

I would research what is required in your town. Figure on fees and the cost of an attorney, then figure the volume you want to produce, then the cost of the equipment to make that amount, then look at what you need to charge to break even, then consider if anyone would pay that amount.

This whole though process is what I call "The Dream Smasher".
 
Following with interest. I know in CA it would cost tens of thousands of dollars before one could sell the first bottle.
 
Should inquire with GreginND as he is in the process of starting his own winery.
 
I filed with the TTB in April and it wasn't until May that I had all the paperwork in that was acceptable to them. Currently I am in Review Status. I have almost all the PA LCB paper work ready, but it requires $$ to send in this paperwork. It will be well over $1 thousand by the time the state paperwork goes in.
 
Spoke with the TTB today after them having my application for 70 days. The agent said she would review my app and hopefully have something for me within a week. When I get this approval, then on to the state. In the meantime, I will submit my COLA and recipes to the TTB.

Time to start to source wine and juice for the fall.....
 
I submitted my on-line application in the middle of June. A couple weeks ago the status changed from "Pending" to "Review in process". I had sent a generic email a couple weeks ago asking about time frames. The agent who will review my application called me yesterday to answer any questions I had. She had not even looked at the application yet and it looks like they are really busy. I was told average approval time is currently about 86 days. I told her I wanted to have everything done before the September harvest or my cash flow would be delayed for a full year waiting until the next year's harvest. She seemed to be sympathetic to that and said she'd note that in the file and do what she can. Slowly progress!
 
Just a note on TTB applications. They often get lost on a desk. If you go to the TTB website and look up locations you will see two in Cleveland. One is a field office and the other is their main processing center. A kind call to the main processing center seems to help applications get unlost.


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I just got my reply and I have 8 items to address. 5 are BS paperwork issues (I listed the full legal name of the winery including the LLC - Do NOT do that). They want more info on my property (tax numbers and such), a diagram of the winery and I need to re-do my OOI form.

I have 15 days to get this info back to them, so I know what I'm doing this weekend.....
 
But Satruday morning, I did make a score to buy a never-used Ebulliometer (possibly without the thermometer) for $500. And my bottler will come home tomorrow night and help me bottle 3 batches....
 
The TTB application for a winery permit does take about 90 days on average. You'll need a bond as well, the total amount of which is dependent upon the amount of tax you'll owe the federal government. You will also need to be licensed in the state you're operating -- and state licenses vary (i.e., in some states, you can complete the application while waiting for the TTB federal permit, but in other states, like New York, your federal permit must be issued before the SLA will approve your state license). From my experience, I have found that you do sometimes need to push on the applications with a phone call -- although it does depend on which specialist is assigned to review it.
 
Hops, I agree. The TTB's site said it would take 65 days and when finally called after 72 days, the TTB said they would have to dig out my application. I have had to re-do 8 questions, all of which have finally been submitted back to the TTB. Time to work on the PLCB state forms.
 
Hops, I agree. The TTB's site said it would take 65 days and when finally called after 72 days, the TTB said they would have to dig out my application. I have had to re-do 8 questions, all of which have finally been submitted back to the TTB. Time to work on the PLCB state forms.

Definitely don't forget about the state application part. Have you registered with FDA as well (for food facility purposes)? Wineries are generally required to be registered with FDA. It's free for domestic establishments.
 
No FDA registration yet, as a Farmers market/Bakery have asked me to get licensed so they will have the FDA completed (or at least I'm hoping).

I did send another email today just to see if they forgot about me. Haven't heard back as of yet and I guess you can't send a nasty WTF email. Working on the state license and the additional location application.
 
I have been told that if you have more that one acer of grapes, you do not have a hobby, you have a job!


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No FDA registration yet, as a Farmers market/Bakery have asked me to get licensed so they will have the FDA completed (or at least I'm hoping).

I did send another email today just to see if they forgot about me. Haven't heard back as of yet and I guess you can't send a nasty WTF email. Working on the state license and the additional location application.

I'm trying to remember, didn't you need the FDA registration for your federal application? I thought I had to do that and it was quick and painless. But I may have needed it for my state application. I'm still waiting and haven't heard anything yet.
 

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