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Assuming land aquisition and construction of a suitable production facility has been completed, costs for raw product, equipment and supplies are estimated as follows:
Raw Product MaterialsA combination of whole grapes and pressed juice is assumed.
Whole grapes - 7 tons (sufficient for 1000 gal.) @ $600/ ton----$ 4,200.00
Pressed juice for an additional 4000 gallons @ $3.75/ gallon-----15,000.00
Material subtotal --- $19,200.00Production Equipment
One Sorrento crusher/de-stemmer ---------------------------------- $ 580.00
One bladder press model B-70, 40 gal. Capacity ----------------- 2,036.00
One Wine/juice pump model JPF 13, 13 gal./min. --------------- 450.00
One filter pump, 10" membrane - 100 gal./hr. -------------------- 312.00
Filter cartridges, .45 micron - 12 @ $28. -------------------------- 336.00
Filter cartridges, .20 micron - 10 @ $32. -------------------------- 320.00
Hose - 1" I.D. - 50 feet @ $1.50 ------------------------------------ 75.00
Equipment subtotal --- $ 3,509.00Cooperage
Twelve 500 gallon Pasco vertical fermenters @ $1,186. --------- $ 14,232.00
Ten American Oak 225 Liter barrels @ $125. --------------------- 1,250.00
Eight 125 gallon white poly primary fermenters @ $175. -------- 1,400.00
Five 15 gallon S.S. barrels @ $30. ---------------------------------- 150.00
Six 5 gallon glass carboys @ $ 12. ---------------------------------- 60.00
Cooperage subtotal --- $ 17,092.00Bottling Equipment
One 264 gallon variable capacity S.S. tank ------------------------- $ 950.00
One stand 4.5 ft. for above tank -------------------------------------- 200.00
One GAI six bottle filler, gravity fed type -------------------------- 1,345.00
One RCO Swiss corker, hand type ----------------------------------- 560.00
Four 8 ft. folding tables for bottling line ---------------------------- 160.00
One bottle washer, model SR 3 --------------------------------------- 12.00
One bottle drainer, wood ---------------------------------------------- 35.00
One heat gun for shrinking capsules -------------------------------- 60.00
One Label Pro 5.5 label gluer ---------------------------------------- 472.00
Two gallons resin glue ------------------------------------------------ 26.00
Bottling Equipment subtotal -- $ 3,820.00Laboratory Equipment
One Kerns model 25-30 pH meter ----------------------------------- $ 284.00
One Refractometer , ATCO temperature compensated ---------- 179.00
One acid test kit with stopcock burette and flask ----------------- 72.00
One hydrometer and glass cylinder jar ----------------------------- 25.00
One metric laboratory scale ------------------------------------------ 57.00
One vertical chromatography kit ------------------------------------ 35.00
Two ten unit free SO2 test titrettes ---------------------------------- 15.00
One glass vinometer --------------------------------------------------- 6.00
One Dextro check kit -------------------------------------------------- 20.00
Laboratory Equipment subtotal ---- $693.00
Chemicals/Supplies
Ten lbs. Potassium Metabisulfite ----------------------------------- $ 18.00
Eight lbs. Citric acid ------------------------------------------------- 16.00
Sixteen oz. Pectic enzyme ------------------------------------------ 16.00
Twelve lbs. Bentonite KWK ---------------------------------------- 18.00
Five Gelatin, 100 bloom --------------------------------------------- 29.00
Sixteen oz. Kieselsol ------------------------------------------------- 9.00
Sixteen oz. N/10 Sodium Hydoxide -------------------------------- 4.00
Four oz. N/10 Potassium Acid Phthalate -------------------------- 3.00
One oz. Phenolphthalein --------------------------------------------- 2.00
Two lbs. Premier Cuvee yeast --------------------------------------- 15.00
Eight lb. Cotes de Blancs yeast -------------------------------------- 55.00
Twenty grams Vinaflora Oenos M/L culture ---------------------- 55.00
Assorted fermentation bungs and locks ---------------------------- 40.00
Chemicals/Supplies subtotal ---------- $ 280.00
Bottling Supplies
Bottles - 25,000 @ .50 ----------------------------------------------- $12,500.00
Corks - " " @ .13 ----------------------------------------------- 3,250.00
Labels - " " @ .05 ----------------------------------------------- 1,250.00
Capsules - " " @ .03 ----------------------------------------------- 750.00
Bottling Supplies subtotal ----------- $ 17,750.00Total Estimated Cost for all Materials, Equipment & Supplies - $ 62,344.00
Total Estimated Retail Value of Bottled Product ----------------- $ 200,000.00
(Based on average retail price of $8.00/bottle)
Obviously, these figures and actual equipment is subject to some modification, but overall set-up costs should remain about the same. For example, if you use press apply labels, you don’t need the glue machine or glue. On the other hand, it would be very nice to have three 264 gallon variable tanks, so you could cross-blend and store more "odd amounts" of any particular wine.
Price per bottle/income line assumes you make all wines of quality and in a style which will sell out each year! Also, cost of labor and taxes on the wine will eat into that 200K, so the net on those bottles will be a lot less than that.