One harvest a year, and the wine gets more valuable the longer it sits.
Cover for wineries and vineyards — the vines, the tanks and barrels whose value climbs as the wine ages, the tasting room, and the wildfire and smoke exposure that now defines the West.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
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What winery businesses actually need.
Wine in process and in barrel
Bulk wine and bottled stock, valued for what it is worth now rather than at crush.
Without it — A vintage set at production cost is underinsured by multiples after three years.
Equipment breakdown
Presses, crushers, refrigeration, glycol and bottling lines.
Without it — A refrigeration failure mid-ferment ruins the tank, and property excludes the cause.
Tasting room and liquor liability
The public on site, and the alcohol you pour for them.
Without it — General liability excludes liquor for anyone in the trade.
Business income across a vintage
Income lost when a harvest or a season cannot be worked.
Without it — There is one harvest a year and it does not wait for a rebuild.
Wildfire and smoke taint
Fire at the property, and the smoke exposure that can render fruit unusable.
Without it — Smoke taint is a distinct and often separately-worded exposure.
What winery operators ask us.
How should wine inventory be valued?
On a basis agreed with the insurer in advance that reflects what the wine is worth as it ages, not what it cost to make. This is the same trap as barrel-aged spirits and it is the most common underinsurance in the sector: a default policy values a tank at the price of the fruit, while three-year-old bottled wine is worth several times that. Get the valuation basis written into the policy, and revisit the limit each year as the cellar fills.
What is smoke taint and is it covered?
Fruit absorbing compounds from wildfire smoke, which can make wine unsellable without the vineyard ever burning. It is a live and contested area: some policies address it explicitly, many are silent, and silence is not coverage. Ask the question directly, and expect underwriters to ask about your distance from wildland, your defensible space and whether you have had testing done in prior smoke years.
Does the tasting room change the policy?
Yes, in two ways. It brings the public onto a working production site, which is a premises exposure a pure production policy does not contemplate. And pouring makes liquor liability mandatory rather than optional — it is excluded from general liability for anyone in the alcohol business, and dram shop statutes in many states extend it to what an over-served visitor does after they leave. Events, weddings and food service each get asked about on top.
Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.