Professional Risks

Professional Indemnity - Contract Winemakers

There are many tales of wine producers receiving unsatisfactory wine from their outstanding grape product after their wine is made under contract. How can this problem be solved through insurance?

Professional Indemnity insures the "errors and omissions" that may occur during the winemaking process by a Contract Winemaker.

A producer and winemaker must rely on their contract, and the winemaker can be held responsible if the wine is not of expected or anticipated quality. As such, it is essential that the winemaker has backup in the event that they are responsible for a fault.

Below are a just a few examples of the problems faced by Contract Winemakers:

• Recent involvement with bad crème of tartare resulted in the formation of tartaric crystals in the bottles. Can the producer sell this wine, and who is responsible?
• Bad wine management
  Barrels may not have been topped up for several months, or topped up with shiraz instead of chardonnay, thus creating a new style of "rosé". How much is this going to cost?
• Incorrect acid adjustments
  We all know what the results are if acid adjustments are too high or too low...
• Housekeeping
  Poor housekeeping can result in a number of serious issues. How would your client react to the unfortunate presence of a brett taint in the wine you have made for them?