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Wine ingredient food safety requirements

Commodities are ingredients supplied for making wine and include:

  • grapes
  • fruit
  • vegetables
  • grains or cereals
  • honey.

Commodity suppliers do not need a wine standards management plan (WSMP). But winemakers trace all the ingredients in their wines, so you need to provide information about the commodities you supply. Your commodities also must:

  • be free from hazards that could cause injury to human health when they become wine
  • not exceed maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides.

If your commodities can be sold on the retail market for human consumption, they are generally suitable for making into wine.

You can find MRLs for pesticides in the MRL database. This covers limits for a variety of markets including New Zealand.

MPI pesticide MRL database

Grapes for making wine

You must keep information about your grapes and provide it to the winemaker, including:

  • the source of grapes, such as the grower details and the location of your vineyard
  • a description of grapes including quantity, variety, vintage, and area where the grapes were grown – as this information may appear on the wine label and must be verifiable
  • risk factors, such as spray diary records or declarations about pre-harvest intervals for sprays or any sulphur dioxide field additions.

Wine grape spray schedule

Some overseas markets have pesticide residue standards. If you grow grapes for export wine, the New Zealand Winegrowers vineyard spray schedule helps you comply with these.

The schedule is published each year by New Zealand Winegrowers for its members.

About New Zealand Winegrowers and contact information

Wine ingredients other than grapes

Winemakers may ask you to provide information about the commodities you supply, including:

  • date of delivery
  • grower details
  • quantity and type of commodity received – actual or estimated
  • if there was any contamination, and if so, steps taken to eliminate, minimise, or manage it.

Who to contact

If you have questions about supplying grapes and wine ingredients, email info@mpi.govt.nz

MPI business units