How Difficult Is To Set Up Your Own Winery Business?

Creating a new winery in the UK can be a tricky thing to do. There’s quite a few food safety and hygiene regulations to get used to, and some of which you may never have heard of. 

There are also requirements around grape provenance, region specific language, and land usage you’ll need to account for as well – and that can all get a little complicated. 

And then you’ll need to factor your waste and energy output, which can be sky high within the food and beverage industry. 

All in all, you’ve set yourself quite the task in opening up your own winery business. 

But if you enjoy wine, and you’ve always wanted to make and sell your own wine, this could be the dream industry for you. 

And if that’s how you feel about the business goals you’ve set, we’re here with a guide for turning them into a reality. 

It’s difficult to set up your own winery business, but it’s not impossible; here’s what you need to plan for. 

Putting Your Vineyard or Winery Together

If you want to create a self-sustaining winery, you’re going to want to set up your own vineyard. 

And to do that, you’re going to need enough space, plenty of plants, and the manpower to ‘farm’ the land, make the wine, and then bottle and ship it off. 

Where to find the best land

In the UK, the best area for growing wine grapes is the South East. 

Most of England’s wineries are found here, as it tends to be warmer, and the soil is much better at draining away excess water. 

Wine grapes tend to need this ‘chalkier’ ground to grow to such a flavourful state, and there’s an abundance of it in the southern regions. 

Registering your vineyard

Once you’ve found the right land for your vineyard, you should get ready to register it to the Food Standards Agency. 

You don’t have to register your vineyard until it reaches the right size (around 10,890 square feet), but it’s best to have the right documentation ready for the process in advance. 

If You Don’t Want to Set Up a Vineyard

Of course, you may not want to go through all the hassle (and expense) of sourcing land for a vineyard. And that’s perfectly fine – you don’t have to do so. 

You can instead create a winery business separate from a vineyard, and use the services of a winemaker on contract. 

You’ll still have to register this business, and go through the same licensing and registration process, but it’s usually more affordable for those with limited funding. 

Choosing Your Plants

Choosing the right grapes for your vineyard will very much depend on what grows well here in the UK. 

White and sparkling grape varieties are most common in the UK, as these all grow well under our climate conditions. For example, pinot grigio, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc. 

Keeping your plants in good condition

Commercial wineries and vineyards will need to use ‘plant protection products’ to keep their grapes healthy and pest free. 

However, only certain sprays can be used, and these sprays need to be applied by a person with pest control qualifications.

You should also have a disease resistance process at work within your vineyard, to ensure any pesticides are used appropriately and to the best effect. 

What Licences Will You Need?

Most food and beverage production businesses require licenses to sell food and drink to the wider public, and your winery will be no different. 

In terms of the licenses you might be in need of, these are the ones you should apply for ASAP:

Alcoholic Products Producer Approval

If you’re going to be making wine that you want to sell, you need to have official approval from the government first. 

Alcohol Licence

If you want to sell directly to consumers, you’ll need a personal alcohol licence, as well as a permit licence. 

If selling to companies, you’ll need to be registered as an alcohol wholesaler. 

Bottling and Labelling Your Goods Correctly

When you’re making and selling wine, you have to abide by all the usual labelling regulations.

For example, listing the ingredients used to make the wine, often ordered according to their volume. 

But there are a couple of unique things about bottling and labelling wine products that you should keep in mind:

Packaging is part of the brand

The way your wine looks comes before the way it tastes. 

If you want someone to buy it, they need to have some kind of assurance it has the right flavour once they’re able to open the bottle and let it breathe. 

That’s why it’s key to work with a wine bottles manufacturer that can supply as many custom-made bottles and labels as you require. 

And seeing as most wineries can get up to 2 bottles of wine from each singular vine, that’s a lot of bottles you’re going to need!

What needs to go on a wine label

• The unit’s lot number
• CL amount and alcohol volume percentage
• Where it was made – specific provenance is only required for quality wines made by certificate holders, but the country where the wine was produced needs to be displayed. 
• If the wine contains allergens – there are 14 main allergens recognised in the UK.

Setting Up Your Own Winery Business

There’s a lot of set up to try and get underway here. 

To start with, you need to find the right land for your vineyard, or find a contractor that can make the wine for you. 

Then you need to register your vineyard and get the right licences, according to where you plan to sell your wine. 

And after all that, you need to make sure your labels are fully compliant, while also being perfectly branded. 

It’s quite the business establishment to undertake. 

But if you can get the funding, source the ingredients, and take the time to comply, you could set up a thriving winery here on UK soil.