Operations: Receive Wine for Blending into Spirits (Read Time: 4 mins)

To receive wine for use in blending with spirits, you just need to configure a Batch Type and an In-Bond Product to represent the wine, and then you simply transfer the wine into a batch of spirits in Processing.

1. Set up a Wine Batch Type (if needed) and enable Batch Type in Storage and Processing Operational Stage:
2. Set Up the Bonded Product
3. Receive the Liquid
4. Transfer (blend) the wine into spirits
5. Common Compliance Questions

1. Set up a Wine Batch Type (if needed) and enable Batch Type in Storage and Processing Operational Stage:

• To Edit an existing Batch Type, navigate to Operations > Setup > Batch Types and click the blue arrows to the right of the Batch Type in need and click Edit:
  • Click the boxes next to Storage and Processing if not already selected. You can enable the Wine in Production (Post-Ferm Holding) as well, if you wish to allow the wine to be distilled as well as blended.
  • Your Batch Type reporting categories for blending wine should look like so:

2. Set Up the Bonded Product

Refer to the following resource for guidance on setting up a Bonded Product to represent your Wine:

• Setup: Add New Bonded Product (Read Time: 2 mins)
• The Batch Type that you specify when building the Bonded Product should reflect the wine batch type you built in Step 2.

Note: When building your Bonded Product, Dx5 will prompt you for the product's alcohol content. This is merely a template value and you can safely enter an approximation. When you record the receipt of the liquid, you can override the template value and enter the true ABV.

3. Receive the Liquid

• Navigate to Operations > Overview and click the Receive Spirit button in the top right of the page:
  
• On the Receive Spirit form, choose the Product Received from the drop-down menu, adjust the Received Proof/ABV on the current receipt accordingly, and select the appropriate Batch Type to represent the wine
• Choose the Storage or Processing Stage and select a Destination Vessel to receive the liquid
• Enter the Volume received into the Received Quantity field, and upload any accompanying BOL documents associated with the physical transaction if desired (.png, .pdf or .jpeg file types accepted). 
• A video of this receipt process can be viewed here: Operations: Receive Spirit In-Bond (Video). 
  • Note: Even though you are not receiving spirit, you still use the Receive In-Bond functionality to record the receipt of wine in Dx5.

4. Transfer (blend) the wine into spirits

• Locate the batch of Wine that you received in Step 3 (it will be in your Storage or Processing account)
• If the batch is in the Storage account, you will need to first move some or all of the wine to Bulk Processing using Batch Actions > Transfer:

• Once your Wine is in the Processing account, simply use Batch Actions > Transfer to record the addition of wine to spirits. Here's an example of 1 gallon of wine being added to 10 gallons of Straight Bourbon (this might be step one of a Blended Whiskey production process):

Common Compliance Questions

Q: Do I need to file a "transfer in bond" permit amendment in order to receive wine?
A: No. Receipts of wine do not require a permit amendment, although the winery must prepare and provide their customary shipping documents for bulk wine, which include details about the composition of the product, alcohol content, and information about the producer.

Q: Can I use bottled wine for blending?
A: No. Wine used for blending at distilleries must be purchased in bulk format from a bonded winery. The use of bottled wine (or wine from homebrewing) is not permissible.

Q: A winery has some chaptalized (sugar added prior to fermentation) wine or cider that I would like to use. Is this permitted?
A: Yes, "Other than Standard" (OTS) wine is commonly used as a blending ingredient at distilleries. However, note that while you can distill the chaptalized/OTS wine, you typically cannot call it Brandy. The presence of added sugar renders its distillate a Distilled Spirits Specialty product upon distillation. 

Q: Do I need a TTB Formula in order to blend wine into spirits?
A: Yes, unless your intent to blend those products was covered in your Permit Application's "Statement of Production Procedure"