Winemaker vs. Accountant: Who Handles What in Winery Accounting?

Running a winery is equal parts art and business—and when those two worlds collide, things can get complicated fast. Winemakers focus on the craft of making great wine, while winery accountants keep the financials in check. But these roles aren’t completely separate.

A winemaker holds key production details that the accountant needs to do their job, and an accountant provides financial insights that help the winemaker make better decisions. When these two teams work well together, a winery can stay profitable, manage costs, and plan for the future.

So, where does the winemaker’s job end and the accountant’s job begin? Let’s break it down.

The Winemaker’s Role: Providing Production Data

Think of the winemaker as the keeper of all things production-related. They know how much wine is produced, where it’s stored, what’s bottled, and what’s sold. But while they have these details, they’re not necessarily tracking the costs behind each step—that’s where the accountant comes in.

Here’s what winemakers need to provide their accountant to keep the financials accurate:

1. Bulk Wine Tracking

Winemakers must track all the ins and outs of bulk wine, including:

• How many gallons were produced each year

• How many gallons were purchased (if buying bulk wine)

• How many gallons were bottled (and how many cases that produced)

• How much wine was sold or transferred to another bond

• Any major losses (such as spills, contamination, or damaged barrels)

This information doesn’t show up in financial records automatically, so if the winemaker doesn’t report it, the accountant can’t properly calculate costs.

2. Bottled Wine Tracking

Once the wine is bottled, tracking doesn’t stop. The accountant needs to know:

• How many cases were bottled

• If any shiners (unlabeled bottles) were purchased

• How much wine was sold or given away (sales, samples, tasting room pours, employee use, etc.)

• Any losses (breakage, damage, or theft)

The goal is to track what came in, what went out, and what’s still on hand. With this data, the accountant can put a dollar value on each step and calculate true production costs.

The Accountant’s Role: Turning Data Into Financial Insights

Once the winemaker provides the raw data, it’s the accountant’s job to attach costs to it and make sense of the numbers.

1. Cost Accounting: What’s Each Bottle Actually Worth?

The winery accountant takes all production data and calculates:

• Cost per gallon of bulk wine

• Cost per case of bottled wine

• Cost per bottle (by SKU, if detailed enough)

If this isn’t tracked properly, wineries might price their wine too low (and lose money) or overprice it (and struggle with sales).

2. Allocating Overhead Costs

A big part of winery accounting is deciding what gets capitalized into inventory costs and what doesn’t. Some overhead costs that accountants consider include:

• Winemaker salaries

• Facility rent & utilities

• Equipment depreciation

• Barrels & production supplies

Overhead can be tricky because it’s not always obvious which costs belong to production and which are general business expenses. That’s why it’s critical for accountants and winemakers to sit down together and create a clear system—once the rules are set, it’s easier to keep things consistent.

How Often Should Winery Cost Accounting Be Done?

A lot of wineries only calculate their cost of goods sold (COGS) once a year—when tax time rolls around. That’s a mistake.

Waiting until tax season means you’re making business decisions without knowing if your pricing, production levels, or inventory costs are sustainable.

Best Practice: Monthly or Quarterly Costing

The most successful wineries track costs throughout the year, ideally every month or quarter. This way, you can:

• Adjust pricing and production as needed

• Catch inventory discrepancies before they become big problems

• Plan cash flow better (since inventory investments don’t always match sales cycles)

For example: Let’s say you bottle a new vintage of rosé in June. If you don’t calculate costs until the following April, you might not realize that glass prices increased significantly, driving up your per-bottle cost. If you had costed the wine at bottling, you could have adjusted your pricing earlier and protected your margins.

Deliverables: What Should Wineries Expect From Their Accountant?

Your winery accountant should do more than just file taxes. They should give you the numbers and insights that actually help you run your business.

Here’s what a good winery accountant should provide:

✔️ Bottled Cost Per SKU – You need to know what it actually costs to produce each bottle of wine, not just an average number across all wines. Different varietals, production methods, and packaging choices impact costs, and that needs to be tracked down to the SKU level so you can price accordingly.

✔️ Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Reports – Knowing your COGS isn’t just about tax time—it’s about understanding your true margins. If you don’t have a clear picture of how much it costs to produce each bottle, you could be selling wine at a price that’s cutting into your profits.

✔️ Inventory Valuation Reports – If your accountant is only looking at your books and not considering the actual wine inventory, you could be missing major financial details. Proper inventory valuation ensures that your balance sheet reflects what’s really happening in the cellar.

✔️ Break-even Analysis – Every winery owner should know the answer to this question: How much wine do I need to sell to cover my expenses? A break-even analysis helps you determine exactly what’s needed to keep your winery running without dipping into reserves.

✔️ Sales Channel Profitability Breakdown – Are you making more money selling through your tasting room, your wine club, or distributors? Different sales channels have very different margins, and understanding where you’re making the most money (and where you might be losing it) is key to growing a profitable business.

If you’re only seeing one big COGS number at the end of the year, you’re missing critical details that could help you make smarter pricing, sales, and production decisions.

The Bottom Line: Winemakers & Accountants Need Each Other

Winemakers focus on the craft, the fermentation, the barrels, and the aging process. Accountants focus on the numbers, the costs, and making sure everything adds up. Both roles are essential, and neither can do their job properly without the other.

If a winery doesn’t know its true costs, pricing decisions become a guessing game. If the financials aren’t accurate, it’s easy to run into cash flow problems without realizing why. And if cost accounting only happens once a year at tax time, you’re missing out on the chance to make smarter, real-time business decisions.

This is why wineries need a strong partnership between winemakers and accountants—because when they work together, the business runs smoother, pricing is more strategic, and financial surprises are kept to a minimum.

Looking for a Winery Accountant? We Can Help.

At Northwest Wine Accounting, we specialize in winery accounting, helping producers stay on top of costs, maximize profitability, and avoid financial surprises.

We keep a close eye on prime costs, inventory tracking, cost of goods sold, and all the details that impact your bottom line.

If this topic is something you're interested in, check out Innovint’s recent video on YouTube, where Rachel Smith, founder of Northwest Wine Accounting, dives even deeper into how winemakers and accountants can work better together. She covers everything from who should track which costs to how to prepare your books for a line of credit or valuation.

👇Watch the full discussion here

And if you’d like help figuring out your own winery’s numbers, we’re always happy to chat. Simply head over to our Contact page to get in touch. 

Until next time.