If you're thinking of starting your own winery, whether at home or in your own vineyard, you're going to need a lot of wine making supplies, from tanks and fermenters to pumps, presses, bottles and corks. Develop a budget for your wine making business, and get a good idea of what commercial wine making supplies cost before you jump into the wine business.

Some commercial winery equipment makes sense, like barrels and de-stemmers, while some might not immediately come to mind, like bottlers, hose-connectors, and tubs and trucks for the fields. When making a budget for your winery equipment, think about:

1. Commercial winery equipment like presses and bottling machinery.

2. Used wine making equipment or small batch ordering.

3. Setting a budget with cost estimates using pricing and costs of wine-making equipment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for wholesale wine making equipment when you start your winery

Dealing with a commercial wine making supply house makes sense if you're looking for wholesale wine making equipment. They usually carry more brands, a larger array of equipment, and can give you up to date price quotes on your complete order. Prices run the gamut from a few hundred dollars for small sorters and de-stemmers to double and triple digits for large-scale winery equipment like vats, bottlers and filters.

I recommend: The Compleat Winemaker offers every kind of supply from bottles to labelers, and you can download a catalog online. The Vintner's Vault offers a complete online catalog with everything from tasting room supplies to wine making commercial equipment.

Think about leasing, buying small or used wine making equipment

If you're short on capital for your winery, you still have options. You can order small batches of supplies at a time, buy used wine making equipment, or even lease commercial wine making equipment, if you choose. These options help even a small winery get started on the road to wine riches. Up front leasing costs can run from $100 to $500 dollars, and some companies will only handle leases of $50,000 or more, while others will go anywhere from $2,000 on up.

I recommend: Practical Winery and Vineyard offers an article on winery equipment leasing and its benefits to your budget. LeaseMark specializes in leasing all types of wine equipment. Hoga Company offers retail pricing on small amounts of oak barrels. They also offer used barrels. The Wine Business Classifieds offer used equipment, and you can post equipment you want, too.

Read more about the costs of commercial winemaking equipment and opening a winery

To set a real budget for your commercial wine making equipment, read cost analysis and estimates from experts. They include ideas about how much you'll spend on equipment, grapes and more, and will help you set a viable budget for your winery, including some ideas of when you'll begin to reap the fruits of your labors in profits.

I recommend: Good Fruit Grower magazine offers a detailed analysis of the costs to open wineries of various sizes. The Ag Marketing Resource Center at Iowa State University offers workbooks to help guide you through setting a budget for a winery and vineyard. Washington State University's Agribusiness Management department offers a bulletin with detailed costs of opening a small winery.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before you decide to open your own winery, visit a few operating wineries to see what commercial wine producing equipment they have, and what they recommend for a start-up winery. Ask them how they set their budgets, and if they managed to stick to them, too, because setting a budget is only part of the complete winery picture. Pricing and costs of wine-making equipment vary widely, so sticking to a budget relies on good shopping techniques and knowledge of the equipment you need ahead of time.

If you're ready to make your own wine, or are looking to upgrade your winery equipment, the Internet is the perfect place to find the wine equipment you need. As you shop those virtual aisles, however, keep in mind that there’s some pieces of equipment out there you just don’t need. Normally, you would only learn to avoid costly newbie blunders with experience, but the Internet provides you a connection with many experienced producers just waiting to share their wisdom and tips.

As you create your wine equipment needs list, consider three pieces of advice:

1. Add winery software to your wine making equipment inventory to guarantee a consistent product.
2. Shop at least three different online winery equipment catalogs.
3. Look for unconventional places to find your commercial wine making equipment and industry tips.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find wine making software that has features your label can really use

Get to know your label and its marketability and profitability like never before with comprehensive software packages that track production, batch composition, sugar, temperature, inventory and return on investment.

I recommend: Find software that best suits your wine making business by researching several different products, such as Amphora Wine Log by Fermsoft. Try out the software first with a free trial version. If you still aren't sure that software will help, watch an online video demonstration from JX2 Technology.

Browse online wine-making equipment catalogs to set a budget and learn what you need

Commercial winery equipment is available from many online sources. Consulting at least 3 websites before you buy gives you more options and a better idea of the market for wine making supplies.

I recommend: Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies offers an advanced supply catalog with comprehensive listings. If you know what you need and what you're willing to pay for it, the search feature at the Barkingside Co. web page can tell you if they offer it. If you're more of a novice, find whatever you need, even information, at E.C. Kraus' online store and blog.

Glean information on commercial wine making equipment from seasoned producers

Network with other wine producers to find the winery equipment and advice you need as your business grows. Wine making blogs and online articles are great resources.

I recommend: Westec Tank and Equipment Co. offers a line of custom equipment for the wine making business that is truly ready for expansion. Utilize the Home-Winemaker Blog to develop your network, and subscribe to the E.C. Kraus online newsletter for the latest news about wine making and commercial wine making supply products.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Commercial wine making supplies aren't just for large-batch producers. Supplies such as warming or cooling fermentation tanks are available in sizes and price ranges that make commercial convenience and quality available for any size operation.

The wine making business is a big business these days: the value of a good wine means that the search for the best wine making practices can yield lucrative results. It's also a hobby for many who enjoy the alchemical romance of making a great drink from regular fruits and vegetables. Your wine making equipment is critical to a successful product. Making great wine requires having the right setup and the skills to profit from it.

For anyone just starting out in this field, whether a home hobbyist or a small business operator, the web is an abundant source of information on how to get and use all of the air filters, containers, ingredients and commercial wine producing equipment for wine making. Readers can find:

1. Classes on using home or commercial wine making equipment from either site-based or online instructional providers.

2. More on how to use winery equipment from online "how-tos" or tutorials presented by experienced wine making shops.

3. Essential first-hand information from free wine making forums on the web where independent makers or wine making business shops share tips on their use of home or commercial wine making supplies.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider a wine making class for tips on using wine making equipment

One option when scouring the web for wine making resources is to find and take part in an actual training class for wine making. These kinds of instructional venues often use the web as a way to reach out to potential students, and you can find out a lot about their credentials on the net.

I recommend: A leader in education for winery operators, UC Davis Extension offers its Certificate Program in Winemaking for Online Learners. Site-based training classes like these beer and wine courses from the Home Brew Shop in IL are available across the nation from home brewing shops that want to give their knowledge to the public. For more in wine making training options, try Training-Classes online.

Locate instructive web tutorials or 'field guides' for wine making equipment

Another option for learning how to use wine making supplies like filters, air systems and more, is specific online guides that will walk newbies through every step of the process and recommend materials, equipment and methods with the best chance at a good result.

I recommend: The GrapeStompers site offers comprehensive wine making instructions over the web, including specifics in what kind of equipment to purchase and how to put your home brewing set together. Or choose from more equipment resources at Best Wine Sites.

Look for tips from online wine making equipment forums

If you want the news from the various corners of today's wine making community, don't overlook the wealth of info from web forums where operators post on their own experiences, including the use of home or commercial wine equipment.

I recommend: The forums at WinePress include notes by posters on "Tech and Tools" for fine-tuning your home brew set. For more, including materials choices, best sanitation and more, try Wine Making Talk.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  In addition to all wine making equipment training resources, keep your own meticulous records, so that over time you can provide your own road map on how to do wine making.