How To Start a Profitable Grape Wine Production Business

Grape wine is one of the most popular wines in the industry. And the popularity is increasing rapidly across the globe. Here in this article, we intend to explore how to start a grape wine production business.

Of course, grape wine production is a highly capital-intensive business. However, the business is lucrative too. Any individual can start this business with substantial capital investment. We can say this is a medium to large-scale business. Also, you must have a proper business plan or project report in hand before starting this business.

Grape wine is fermented grape juice. Broadly, there are three different types of wines. These are fortified, sparkling, and tables. Generally, fortified wines have higher alcohol content (around 14 to 30%). However, these are less perishable and you can get them stable without pasteurization.

According to the CO2 content, you can classify the wines as still or sparkle. Additionally, both table and sparkling wines tend to have an alcohol content between 7% to 14%. However, you must provide the right balance of sugar and acid to create a well-fermented wine without the addition of sugar or water.

Grape Wine Market Potential

India is a large market for grape wine. Besides, the market is growing very fast. Nowadays, consumers can buy good quality wines from supermarkets and shopping malls. Besides, online selling allows customers to get the products at their doorsteps. Earlier the choice was limited. Now there are over 200 wine labels available in Mumbai alone. Also, there is a growing demand for Indian wines outside the country.

The availability of good quality Indian wine at half the price has resulted in a continuous increase in demand. Gradual awareness of the basic difference between wines and hard drinks is also helping the wine industry. Thus, India provides a largely virgin market for wine. Therefore, we can say grape wine production is a profitable business for entrepreneurs.

Grape Wine Production Legal Compliance

First of all, grape wine manufacturing demands a full-scale manufacturing operation. And the business also demands a lot of licensing and registration from the Govt. agencies. However, it is advisable to check your state law. Here we put some of the basic requirements.

• First of all, certification under the PFA Act and FPO is necessary. You must obtain permission from the state and Central Govt.
• Registration of the firm with ROC is essential in this business.
• Obtain BIS certification for ISI mark
• Register your brand name with Trademark
• Register for GST registration and GSTIN number.

Grape Wine Production Plant Cost & Investment

The requirement of finance for setting up a grape wine factory varies between Rs 4 crore and Rs 7.5 crore per 100,000 liters (100 KL). And this includes land, building, plant and machinery, and working capital but excludes marketing costs or costs for buying land and setting up vineyards.

Financial assistance is available from NABARD. And you can avail of assistance regarding export from APEDA. However, for cheaper quality fortified wine, there is a requirement for an investment of Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 2.5 crore per 100 KL. Apart from NABARD, there are several banks where you can get financial assistance for the factory.

Grape Wine Production Plant Setup & Machinery

A 10000 Sq Ft area of land is sufficient for starting the factory operation. However, you must provide specific spaces for production, packaging, raw materials storage, finished goods storage, and transportation bay. Choose a factory location carefully. Also, you will need to provide utilities like electricity, water, and human resources. The major required machines are as follows:

• Boiler
• Washing Tanks(Steel) with jet washing system
• Screw Type Juice extractor
• Hydraulic Press (Rack & Cloth Type) Cap. 5 Tones pressure, 2 racks, and 2 Trays
• Fermenter (SS) along with cooling and heating systems
• Filter Press Complete with gear pump size 8*6 ft cap
• Air Condition
• Semiautomatic Bottle Washing Plant
• Automatic Bottle Filling and Crown corking
• Carbonator
• Empty CO2 Cylinder
• Water Storage Tank Cap.
• Bottle Pasteurization Tunnel
• Semiautomatic Labelling Machine
• Maturity Tanks/oakwood Barrels
• Yeast Culture Room
• Steam Pan Tanks
• Misc. equipment such as trays, wooden working tables, different types of knives, slicers, punches, crates, baskets, drums, weighing scales with measure of different capacities, etc.

Grape Wine Manufacturing Process

Step 1. Crushing Grapes

First of all, pick up the grapes by hand and transfer them to the crusher. The crusher punches the grapes and transfers them to a de-juicer to get the pulp from the juice. While the skin, the stems, and other remaining from the crushing are used as manure. Then you can send the juice for fermentation.

Maceration (the time spent while skins and seeds are left with the juice) will go on for a few hours or a few weeks. Pressing will then occur.

One way to press the grapes is to use a “bladder press,” a large cylindrical container that contains bags that are inflated and deflated several times, each time gently squeezing the grapes until all the juice has run free, leaving behind the rest of the grapes. You can also separate solids from juice through the use of a centrifuge.

Step 2. Fermentation

Chill the grape juice first in a combination of stainless steel tanks and oak barrels and then fermented by adding yeast. This process is called the first fermentation of wine and it takes about 8 weeks.

Step 3. Maturation

Store the first fermentation wine further in tanks and/or oak barrels for 6- 8 months for maturation.

Step 4. Bottling

Once the mature wine is ready, stabilize it through cold treatment. After testing the stability of the wine, it then is filtered to screen the balance of fine particles. Then you can pack the filtered wine in bottles, which are washed internally and externally with double-filtered water to remove bacteria and germs.

The only major required raw material is grapes. And in the grape winemaking business, you must ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw grapes to your factory.

You can source the manufacturing technology from the following institutions:

• Wintech Engineers, MIDC Estate, Ambad, Nasik 422 010
• United Heat Transfer Pvt. Ltd, MIDC Estate, Ambad, Nasik 422 010
• SSR Wine Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd, MIDC Estate, Ambad, Nasik 422 010

We hope this detailed article about the grape wine manufacturing business will help you in starting your own factory in your area.