Small-Scale Production Checklist: How Liber & Co. Transitioned From Stove-Top to Industrial — A Winery Parallel

Hook: You built great wine — now protect it as you scale

Pain point: You know how to make excellent wine at stove-top or garage scale, but scaling to tanks, racks, and storefronts exposes you to regulatory headaches, climate-control failures, packaging missteps, and supplier breakdowns that can wipe out months of work. This checklist translates lessons from craft-scale success — inspired by Liber & Co.'s jump from a single pot to 1,500-gallon tanks — into an actionable, winery-focused operations playbook for 2026.

The big picture: Why 2026 is a different scale-up game

From late 2024 through early 2026 the industry accelerated two trends that change how small producers scale:

• Digitized traceability and remote compliance — regulators and buyers expect machine-readable provenance and audit trails. See our data sovereignty checklist for guidance on storage and access controls.
• Smart climate and sustainability requirements — buyers and insurers demand measurable carbon and water metrics; cellars must maintain tighter environmental control to protect value.

That means your scale-up checklist must combine traditional winemaking rigor with modern operations tech: IoT monitoring, predictive maintenance, and a supplier network designed for resilience.

Mini case: What Liber & Co. teaches wineries

Chris Harrison and his co-founders started Liber & Co. with a single pot on a stove. By 2026 their batches run in 1,500-gallon tanks, with most operations kept in-house: manufacturing, warehousing, and fulfillment. The parallels for wineries and cellar-makers are clear:

• Start small, institutionalize rapidly: document every recipe, temperature profile, and sanitation step from the first successful pilot so those practices survive scale. (See a related how-to from stove to 1,500 gallons for notes on preserving small-batch technique.)
• In-house control preserves quality: verticalizing key functions — blending, bottling oversight, and QC — reduces coordination risk when volumes rise.
• DIY culture + professional systems: the founders’ hands-on ethos becomes scalable only when married to formal SOPs, training, and automation.

“It started with a single pot on a stove.” — Chris Harrison, Liber & Co. Founder (Practical Ecommerce)

Scale-up checklist: Prioritized operations steps

Use this checklist as a phased roadmap: Readiness & Pilot → Scale-Up → Industrial Operations. Each section lists specific tasks, responsible roles, and target metrics.

Phase 0 — Readiness & feasibility (0–3 months)

• Document your final product specs — ABV, residual sugar, SO2 range, microbial targets, dissolved oxygen targets, blend ratios, sensory profile. These become your acceptance criteria.
• Risk assessment — map failure modes (temperature excursion, contamination, label misprint, supplier delay) and prioritize mitigations by expected financial impact.
• Regulatory pre-check — identify federal/national permits, state licenses, excise bonds, and export registration. Allocate a compliance owner.
• Budget the infrastructure — tanks, glycol chiller, bottling line, racking, sensors, and a basic ERP/WMS. Build in 15–25% contingency.
• Supplier shortlist — identify primary and secondary vendors for glass, corks/closures, labels, and specialty additives. Ask for lead times, MOQ, and quality certificates.

Phase 1 — Pilot scale (3–9 months)

• Run defined pilot batches in the target tank size (e.g., 500–1,500 gal) and record every parameter: temp, pH, SO2, batch yield, oxygen pickup during transfers.
• Install basic QC — benchtop lab with refractometer, pH meter, free/total SO2 kit, DO meter, and plating supplies for microbial checks. Consider building a small on-site sampling & lab station for routine checks.
• SOPs and batch records — create step-by-step protocols for transfer, racking, fining, tank cleaning (CIP), and bottling. Require signed batch records for traceability. Use governance tools and version control for SOPs and templates.
• Packaging trial — test your chosen bottle, closure, and label through the intended fill-line. Validate headspace oxygen, closure torque, and label adhesion under expected warehouse humidity.
• Compliance validation — submit any required label approvals and sample documentation. If exports are planned, test customs documents and certificate-of-origin processes.

Phase 2 — Scale-up to industrial (9–24 months)

• Upgrade climate control — install a professional glycol chiller or commercial HVAC with humidity control sized for your tank volume and racking footprint (details below).
• Automate critical points — level sensors, flow meters, automated CIP, fill-level detection to reduce human error during high-throughput runs.
• Full QC lab & sensory panel — hire or train a sensory lead and establish a tasting panel and acceptance criteria for every lot before packaging.
• Packaging scale — commission a bottling line (or contract a co-packer). Validate fill rates, closure integrity, in-line O2 measurement, and shrink-wrap packaging for DTC shipping. Consider secondary packaging and pop-up retail approaches for DTC validation.
• ERP and traceability — implement wine-focused production software (batch tracking, inventory, lot genealogy) and connect sensors for time-series storage data.
• Supplier contracts — negotiate SLAs with penalties for missed delivery and require certificates of analysis for chemical additives and closure lots.

Phase 3 — Industrial operations & continuous improvement (24+ months)

• Redundancy and disaster planning — backup chillers, secondary power source / generator, alternate storage sites for inventory evacuation.
• Predictive maintenance — deploy vibration and runtime sensors on pumps, compressors, and bottling equipment; use basic AI-driven alerts for preventative servicing.
• Regulatory readiness program — annual mock audits, digital document retention, and compliance dashboards for excise filing and labeling updates.
• ContinuousQA — capability to recall or isolate lots by lot number quickly; maintain a returns and corrective action log.
• Sustainability & reporting — measure water, energy, and waste intensity per case; use those metrics for buyer certifications and insurance benefits.

Regulatory compliance checklist (practical items)

Regulations vary by country and state. These items reflect common requirements and modern expectations through 2026.

• Licenses & bonds — winery license, excise bond or equivalent, state distribution permits, and export registrations if applicable.
• Label approvals — alcohol content, sulfite declarations, allergen statements, health claims avoidance, and any region-specific appellation rules.
• Traceability — batch-level traceability from tank → bottle → case with records kept for the required retention period. Digitalize records for faster audits and better access control.
• Sanitation & food safety — documented cleaning schedules, HACCP or equivalent, staff hygiene training, and pest control logs.
• Environmental compliance — waste-water permits, chemical disposal processes, and emissions reporting if required.
• Export & customs — certificates of origin, phytosanitary or vineyard source affidavits, and EDI-capable shipping documentation for 3PLs.

Quality & consistency: SOPs, metrics, and lab testing

Quality consistency scales when you can measure it. Establish these as non-negotiables:

• SOP library: Detailed protocols for harvesting input, tank cleaning (CIP), fining, filtration, cold stabilization, and bottling. Version control matters.
• QC metrics: Dissolved oxygen (DO), headspace oxygen at bottling, free/total SO2, pH, Brix, VA limits, microbial counts, and sensory acceptance scores.
• Sampling plan: Define sample frequency by batch size (e.g., every 5,000 L or every tank) and trigger points for escalation.
• Acceptance criteria: Each metric should have pass/fail ranges. For bottled wine, target storage temp and humidity control are part of QC.
• Change control: Any process or supplier change requires a documented risk assessment, pilot trial, and sign-off by QC and operations.

Packaging: what matters when you scale

Packaging is where quality, brand, and cost collide. Mistakes here have high visibility and direct customer impact.

• SKU rationalization: Fewer SKUs reduce tooling costs, inventory complexity, and label errors. Consolidate early.
• Bottle specs: Weight, glass composition (recycled %), neck finish, and breakage rates. Validate by shipping simulation (drop tests).
• Closures: Choose based on aging needs — technical corks or screwcaps for consistency; natural cork for marketing value but add leakage risk.
• Fill-line validation: Validate fill volumes, vacuum/flush parameters, and in-line O2 monitoring. Target oxygen pickup <0.2 mg/L during transfer where possible.
• Secondary packaging for DTC: temperature-insulated shipper options, single-bottle protection, and sustainable fill material to meet 2026 buyer expectations. Consider micro-experience pop-up packaging when testing DTC channels.
• Packaging trends 2026: lightweight recycled glass, recyclable multi-material labels, and bag-in-box for bulk consumers; all driven by sustainability and logistics cost pressure.

Supplier management: build resilience not just cost-savings

Supplier failure is a top cause of scale-up disruption. Your relationship model should look like this:

1. Tiered sourcing — one primary, one geographically diversified secondary, plus a local rapid-response option.
2. Quality gates — require COAs, lot sampling on receipt, and supplier audits for critical items (closures, glass, fining agents).
3. Lead-time management — track supplier lead times and variability in days; hold safety stock equal to X times average lead-time volatility (commonly 1.5–2x).
4. Contracts & SLAs — include delivery windows, quality acceptance, and remedies for defects. Negotiate minimum stock holdings or consignment for risky items.
5. Supplier scorecard — grade vendors monthly on quality, on-time delivery, and responsiveness. Use scores to allocate future business.

Cellar design & climate control (construction, cooling, humidity)

Climate control is fundamental: you’re protecting a biochemical asset. Design with redundancy and monitoring in mind.

Design fundamentals

• Target temperatures: Long-term bottle storage: 50–59°F (10–15°C), with 55°F (13°C) as an operational target. Barrel rooms often run slightly warmer between 55–64°F (13–18°C) depending on style.
• Target humidity: 60–70% RH for cork integrity. Lower humidity dries corks; higher humidity risks mold and label damage.
• Airflow: Low-velocity, laminar-type airflow to avoid local hot spots and dust mobilization. Avoid direct duct discharge onto cases or racks.
• Insulation & vapor barriers: Proper thermal envelope with vapor control to avoid condensation in walls and ceilings.

Cooling system choices

Match complexity to volume and budget.

• Self-contained wine cellar units: Best for small dedicated rooms (under 2,000 cu ft). Lower CAPEX, limited redundancy.
• Split systems with remote condensing units: Scalable and quieter; suitable for mid-size buildings where condensing noise or heat is a concern.
• Glycol chillers: Standard for tank temperature control and large racked cellars. Provide precise temp control and integrate easily with CIP loops for fermentation tanks.
• VRF & packaged rooftop units: Viable for multi-zone facilities; must be integrated with humidification/dehumidification controls to hold RH targets.

Monitoring & redundancy

• Sensor strategy: Dual sensors per critical zone (one primary, one verification). Place sensors at tank level and rack midplane height. Consider an edge orchestration approach from the hybrid edge playbook when you deploy many IoT points.
• Alarms & escalation: Multi-channel alerts (SMS + email + phone) with SLA for response. Define actionable thresholds (e.g., >3°F deviation triggers on-call tech).
• Backup systems: At minimum, a secondary chiller or an emergency contract with a cold-storage partner. Plan for generator-backed power for critical HVAC and pumps.
• Maintenance: Quarterly HVAC filters; semi-annual chiller service; annual full HVAC commissioning and psychrometric rebalancing.

Inventory, provenance & insurance

As volume and value rise, provenance and inventory control protect revenue and collector trust.

• Lot-level inventory: Track bottle-to-tank genealogy so any recall isolates specific lots quickly.
• Digital provenance: Use QR codes or blockchain-backed receipts for collector/resale markets — 2026 buyers expect verifiable histories. See the data sovereignty checklist for storing provenance data.
• Insurance: Update policy limits to reflect finished goods, aging stock, and transit. Consider separate climate-related loss riders.

KPIs & dashboards to run your scaled operation

Monitor these weekly and set monthly targets:

• Fill yield (%) — final cases vs theoretical based on must volume.
• Quality pass rate (%) — batches passing QC first-time without rework.
• Closure failure rate (% of bottles) — target <1% for high-volume runs.
• Temperature/humidity stability — % time in target band (aim for >98%).
• Supplier on-time rate — target >95% for critical items.
• Days of inventory — track raw materials vs finished goods separately.

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Under-documentation: The “we all know how to do this” mentality fails when staff change. Fix: require signed SOP adherence for every production job and use versioning tools.
• Shopping for cheapest glass or closures: Small savings can cost major rework. Fix: include failure cost in vendor selection.
• No redundancy for climate control: A single chiller failure equals mass loss. Fix: budget for backup or third-party cold-storage agreements.
• Ignoring traceability: Digital traceability is now expected by buyers and regulators. Fix: implement lot genealogy before you need it.

Practical tools & partners (2026-ready)

• Wine production ERPs: Vintrace, InnoVint — track lot genealogy, intake records, and sales allocation.
• Remote monitoring: IoT sensor suites with 4G/5G fallover and cloud dashboards for temp/RH/O2 logging.
• Lab kits and consumables: Onsite benchtop SO2 testers, DO meters, and ATP swabs for rapid QC screening.
• Packaging validators: Third-party closure and bottle testers for headspace O2, torque, and leakage testing.

Actionable next steps (30/60/90 day plan)

• 30 days: Map your SOPs, create a supplier short-list, and install dual temperature/humidity sensors in storage areas.
• 60 days: Run a full pilot in target tank size; validate fill-line packaging; begin label approval and basic ERP pilot.
• 90 days: Finalize compliance checklist and contracts with primary/secondary suppliers; budget and plan HVAC/glycol chiller installation.

Final takeaways

Scaling from kettle or garage to professional tanks and cellars is not a single project — it’s an operational transformation. Liber & Co.’s move from a single pot to 1,500-gallon tanks succeeded because the team kept a hands-on ethos while instituting formal processes, investing in in-house capabilities, and staying close to suppliers. For wineries and cellar-makers in 2026, the winning formula is the same: preserve craft through documentation, build climate and compliance redundancy, and digitize traceability.

Downloadable checklist & next step

Use this article as your operational blueprint. For immediate action, assemble your core team (operations, QC, compliance, and procurement) and run the 30/60/90 day plan above.

Call to action: Ready to scale with confidence? Download the printable, prioritized operations checklist and sample SOP templates, or request a free 30-minute scaling audit from our cellar design and compliance specialists to map your exact infrastructure and regulatory needs for 2026.

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