Tailored Insurance for Wineries, Vineyards and Wine Businesses

Winery insurance is specialized coverage designed to protect wine production businesses against unique industry risks — from property damage and crop loss to liability claims, wine spoilage and business interruption due to weather, wildfire, or supply chain issues. It helps safeguard your vineyard, facilities, people, and brand reputation.

The cost of winery insurance varies widely based on your operation’s size, location, risk profile, and the coverage options. Factors like property value, wildfire exposure, and event hosting all affect premiums. Our advisors can tailor a plan and help find competitive terms through our carrier network.

From vine to shelf, wineries and vineyards face a diverse set of complex risks throughout the winemaking process. Key risks unique to wineries and vineyards include:

• Contamination or spoilage during fermentation, storage or bottling
• Equipment breakdowns affecting production timelines
• Product liability from off-premises sales or tastings
• Property damage from fire, earthquake, flood, or other perils
• Business interruption and supply chain disruption
• Liquor liability exposure from on-site tastings or events
• Cyber exposure to wine club and online sales
• Workers’ compensation

Wildfire is an increasing threat to wineries due to climate change and extended drought conditions. To help safeguard your property and operations, it's important to create a defensible space, build with fire-resistant materials, and ensure clear access for emergency responders. Adding backup power, remote monitoring, and dedicated fire suppression water storage can further reduce your exposure and potential costs. 

Cyber insurance helps protect your winery from financial losses resulting from cyber incidents like data breaches, ransomware, or system hacks. With most wineries now relying on online sales platforms, POS systems, and digital customer records, this coverage is increasingly important. It can help cover expenses such as:

• Data restoration and recovery
• Legal defense and settlement costs
• Regulatory fines and penalties
• Customer notification and credit monitoring services

If your winery accepts credit cards, stores customer data, or operates online, this protection is essential.

Your wine inventory can be insured based on different valuation methods. Choosing the right one helps ensure you’re not underinsured in the event of a loss such as fire, theft, or equipment failure. Common valuation approaches include:

• Replacement cost: Covers the cost to make the wine, including grapes, barrels, labor, and materials.
• Selling price: Insures the wine at its expected retail or wholesale price, reflecting the income you would lose if it’s damaged or destroyed.
• Market value: Based on what a similar wine would sell for in the current market. Often used for rare or vintage wines and may require a third-party appraisal. 

Discuss these options with your broker to help ensure your policy reflects the true value of your inventory and protects your revenue. 

Not necessarily. Personal or farm policies may not fully cover commercial operations like wine production, sales, leakage, and contamination.  A dedicated commercial policy is often required to avoid coverage gaps.

Proactive risk management helps protect your winery from preventable losses and can lead to lower insurance premiums over time. For example, creating a wildfire mitigation plan can reduce property exposure.

Implementing clear safety protocols and training for workers can significantly lower the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation claims. By identifying and addressing potential risks early, you strengthen your operations and make your winery more attractive to insurers.