Wine logs & tracking Software

Hi, considering how many batches you get going, has anyone used or found any software you are using to track all the activities you need to do for this hobby? Having 4-8 kits going at once has many activities you need so schedule for, given I travel a lot, would like to know what more experience makers use. Currently using a color/date coded spreadsheet.

Thanks

I've been using a spreadsheet since I started. Works great for me.

I also use a spreadsheet (Excel, in my case), with conditional formatting that changes the color of the cell based on the date. (It sounds like this is what you do, too?) Works well enough for me, but I only have 3-5 batches going at any one time.

Always love pen and paper !

I print out what I plan to do to a wine, then write what I am doing on it. I don't plan out when I am going to do the next thing to a specific date. Just do things when I get around to them.

cmason1957 said:

I print out what I plan to do to a wine, then write what I am doing on it. I don't plan out when I am going to do the next thing to a specific date. Just do things when I get around to them.

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I totally agree - except that I am very religious about every 3 months to rack and adding sulfite.

I have an excel ss that I use to track the next step that needs to be done for each batch of wine in progress and the target date for the next action. I then sort it by next action date. I don't rigidly adhere to the dates. I just use it more as a guide of what to do next. It's not fancy but it works for me. If you would like a copy PM me your email address and I'll email it to you.

I use google drive to track everything with ingredients and dates. I then use google calendar to let myself know what I need to rack or add something.

Double Daylo said:

I use google drive to track everything with ingredients and dates. I then use google calendar to let myself know what I need to rack or add something.

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Are you using a spreadsheet or just a typed document? Do you have a template?

I do pen and ink on the directions and keep forum posts as a diary for each wine I make. Not terribly precise, but it's all in one place at least.

GreginND said:

Are you using a spreadsheet or just a typed document? Do you have a template?

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I use a full spreadsheet that includes cost of the fruit, chemicals, and rack dates. It calculates on its own the cost of the batch, per bottle, and the next date that I need to rack for that batch. I use a master and just make a copy every time I start a new batch. I use the drive as it allows me to access it anywhere with my phone or computer. I like having costs on there as I can easily look up what I paid for something last and compare to costs now.

I attached a pdf of my batch sheet.

View attachment batch sheet.pdf

We currently use Outlook to schedule the various milestones in the wines using a colour coded system as well as titled. When they're completed, they get marked "complete" instead of deleted so that we can cross examine previous milestones if necessary. It works well but to have a dedicated piece of software that tracks the wines and also acts as a customer database would be fantastic.

I use a spreadsheet, 15 varieties every year. One tab for each variety. Based on Danial P's form. I template the new year from the last so I can see differences and what I did. However, since I'm paranoid about forgetting stuff - looking forward to dementia, I write the important stuff down in my notebook as well.

Google docs for me, so I can access anywhere, anytime from pc, iPad, iPhone. Each vessel (carboy, flex tank, barrel) has its own sheet, with a color coded dashboard that is auto populated from the individual sheets. Google sheet also auto populates the current date, so it is pretty maintenance free.

I e-mailed a lot wineries awhile back and got a mixed bag of nuts on what software they used.

I own BrewersFriend.com and it's become a huge resource for homebrewers who enjoy having a SaaS solution for recipe building.

I've thought a lot about coding up a winemaking tracking tool as well.

I use a Google Docs spreadsheet for each batch.

I plan to create a master sheet so I can check the latest status of each batch in one place that reads from the others. This will make it easier to determine when the next time I need to take action is.

Mostly seat-of-the pants, Post-it Notes and Sharpie written cork hieroglyphics here. I'm low volume, maybe a dozen or so batches a year, which allows me to operate without logs (spreedsheets or wine apps).

Excel spreadsheet here. Separate tab for each batch. It also contains a barrel log/schedule and a summary tab, which I maintain manually. The summary contains key highlights, such as batch number, name, varietal, start date, yeast, kit or not, ABV and a couple others. Just some key data I can search on - particularly varietal/yeast combos. The summary also helps me more quickly find a particular batch whose tab I'm looking for. After 4+ years, I've done over 50 batches, so it can sometimes be hard to find details on a particular batch. My batch numbers begin with the year, then are sequentially numbered (201701, for example), and the tabs are in that numerical order. The oldest ones are now hidden just to save me the sanity of scrolling around too much to find something current.

Anyone open to sharing the spreadsheets they use? Would be great to see all the variables your tracking and how.

TxBrew said:

Anyone open to sharing the spreadsheets they use? Would be great to see all the variables your tracking and how.

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Mine is very minimal at this point. It keeps notes at each step and what I did / what i used.

I definitely want to make a much better one and I would love to see others to get ideas.