Helping winery clients navigate harvest season safely & efficiently

Wineries across the nation are wrapping up their busiest time of the year — harvesting season. This year’s season was expected to be particularly lucrative in some areas with experts forecasting a 28% growth in yield from last year.

The harvesting process can introduce a number of risk exposures to a winery operation from auto exposures to safety risks and wildfires. As we conclude harvesting season, now is a great time for agents and brokers to review any major risk exposures with their winery clients and share best practices on how to mitigate those risks and navigate a fruitful harvest again next year.

Common contributors to insurance claims

Harvest is a busy and exciting time of year for wineries, often packed with guests, workers, events and more. It’s also the time of year, we, as insurers, see a number of preventable claims stemming from risk exposures that could have been mitigated.

First, let’s consider risks related to the winery’s employees. With harvesting season being such a busy time of year, winery management often turn to seasonal employees to help pick and process inventory. Though seasonal staff may be necessary for many businesses to properly manage their inventory, without the right training, these employees can put themselves, others or the property in danger.

Many wineries rely on these seasonal employees, often students or interns traveling from abroad, to help with picking and transporting inventory across the operation. Because these staff members often don’t have years of experience like the winery’s full-time employees and likely haven’t undergone extensive training, they can present a huge liability. For example, untrained team members can put both guests and staff members at risk if they fail to use machinery properly. Employees, who haven’t undergone distracted driving training or had their motor vehicle records reviewed, could also introduce auto exposures, as transporting equipment both across the property and to other locations could lead to an accident.

Second, weather events continue to threaten harvesting season. As wildfire season has extended in recent years, fires have destroyed or threatened to destroy thousands of acres of winery property.

Events like these can also add to operating difficulties for those spared by the fire but in close proximity. For example, high wind events which are fairly frequent around wildfires, can lead to a power outage. If a winery is in a region with a power cut, this can completely shut down their harvesting work. Even if power lines are operational, major road closures as a result of high winds and fires can prevent employees from getting to work, which can leave wineries heavily understaffed.

When the weather is favorable during harvesting season, we see many clients opening their doors to customers for events. Many wineries offer tours of their vineyards as the grapes are harvested. Some include the public in grape smashes as well, which can introduce significant liability. In situations like this, visitors can be exposed to slip and fall risks due to their proximity to the machinery or haphazardly laid wires and lines, among other things.

Finally, unchecked machinery is a common contributor to insurance claims during harvesting season. Smaller operations often rent or lease bottle lines, presses and de-stemmers from other businesses. Without proper maintenance and safety checks, using this equipment can introduce significant safety hazards to staff and customers in the area.

For businesses that don’t have the infrastructure to lease equipment or crush their own grapes, we often see them contract larger operations to do so for them. This can expose the winery to risks related to transit limits, as there are legal limitations on crossing state lines with inventory. Agents and brokers may want to reach out to their clients to see if they have any plans to process their products elsewhere so they can ensure any potential exposures are covered. 

Mitigating major threats to operations

So, what should agents and brokers recommend to winery owners and operators to protect their business, their staff and their customers during harvesting season? We recommended following these four best practices for starters:

1. Extensive training: Full-time staff and temporary employees should all have to undergo comprehensive employee training programs specifically tailored toward common harvesting risks before setting out to work. This training should also include a focus on regular equipment maintenance to limit any injury risks.
2. Detailed plans: Winery management should prepare and implement in-depth risk management plans. These plans should provide steps for staff to avoid common risk exposures and share best practices to respond in case of any emergencies. Plans should also be specifically tailored for worst-case scenarios in harvesting, including fire, power outage or an evacuation.
3. Cleaning and maintenance: Equipment breakdowns introduce safety threats and can halt business for long periods of time, so winery owners should mandate regular equipment maintenance. Furthermore, with so many additional people on site during harvesting season, including seasonal staff and visitors, staff should be regularly cleaning the property and moving any obstructions out of the way to limit slip and fall risks.
4. Preparing their property: With frequent weather challenges during the harvesting season, a backup generator can be a valuable tool for avoiding business shutdowns during power outages. With wildfires, we also recommend shoring up defensible space. Winery staff or third parties should take the time to prune vegetation around the property to ensure it cannot serve as fuel for fires.

In addition to these steps, agents and brokers should be checking in with their winery clients every year ahead of the harvest season. They should accompany clients on a property tour to assess and survey for risk exposures. Then, they should revisit coverage offerings with their clients to ensure they have the right package that works for their business, as well as strong risk mitigation strategies in place to protect winery operations.

Seasonal hiring, climate events, machinery and public visitation all pose a significant threat to operations and safety if not properly prepared for. With the right training, planning, property preparation and coverage, agents and brokers can ensure winery owners are ready to take advantage of a great harvest season for years to come.

Larry Chasin is president and CEO of PAK Programs, which provides insurance programs for wineries, vineyards, breweries, wine & liquor retailers, cideries, meaderies, distilleries, liquor & wine importers and distributors. He can be reached at larryc@pakprograms.com.

Opinions expressed here are the author’s own.

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