Cost of Running a Winery ( Link )

[hvac36]

Tho I do agree with some of the cost but some I feel are a little high....
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1996/eb1996.pdf

 

[ColdClimateWines]

What areas do you think they are high on? The study looks like it was done in 1996. Sixteen years later prices should be higher. I only skimmed the data but it did not seem out of line. I was surprised at the amount spent on cooperage. Probably why oak adjuncts have come on strong.

 

[hvac36]

The 96 date I think is wrong as in the readings you will see the writtings dating 2004 as well.
Not many new winerys are using oak barrels, as well as most are mom and pop run. Also why would a new start up buy new whe there is used equipment available.
Grape cost is not as high as they are saying as well.

 

[ColdClimateWines]

I agree with used equipment. After our fire I drove around the country for used.went to Niagra for tanks, Colorado for an apple press, Finger Lakes for a bottling line, etc. we do use some oak, but went to Ky for it. Still it's expensive. We, my kids and I are working on a 2400 sq ft building. Doing as much ourselves as we can, but still lot of moola. The building we did is ICF so temperature will be steady. Walls are 17 feet for tanks and the ceiling pitches to 24 feet. We are currently sheet rocking with 5/8 fire rock. A lot of fun at 20 feet.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

I agree with used equipment. After our fire I drove around the country for used.went to Niagra for tanks, Colorado for an apple press, Finger Lakes for a bottling line, etc. we do use some oak, but went to Ky for it. Still it's expensive. We, my kids and I are working on a 2400 sq ft building. Doing as much ourselves as we can, but still lot of moola. The building we did is ICF so temperature will be steady. Walls are 17 feet for tanks and the ceiling pitches to 24 feet. We are currently sheet rocking with 5/8 fire rock. A lot of fun at 20 feet.

Sounds like you are going descent sized. We started with a 30 x 30 x 9 oversized 2 car garage. We are saving up for something like you're building now. That and better equipment. It'd be a waste to have high ceilings and only 6' tanks! lol

 

[ColdClimateWines]

We started with a metal butler building 24x40. Shaped like an aircraft hanger. Cheap to put up but loses cubic footage due to the round shape. It was attached to part of an old motel we bought, gutted and rebuilt. The motel itself we razed. Kept only the registration area. It was a 1950 Adirondack Motel that ha been abandoned for 12 years. The motel building was the store, the butler building was the processing area. When I first put up that building I wondered what I was going to do with all the space - ha!
I spay foam insulated it with a fire resistive foam. It was the only thing to partially survive the fire. Btw, I filled the building in six months.

The new building is 2400 with big ceiling. My wife asked what we were going to do with all the room. Ha, ha, ha .......