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Export requirements for New Zealand grape wine

Requirements for export
Confirming export requirements are met
Getting an export eligibility statement
Step 1: Getting your wine batches assessed for eligibility
Step 2: Getting your wine consignments assessed for eligibility
Costs of getting your wine assessed for eligibility
More about wine exporter duties
Contacts for New Zealand grape wine export enquiries
Related links

If you export wine from New Zealand, you must comply with the general duties of all wine exporters, and any export requirements specific to the market you are exporting to.

General duties of all wine exporters

In addition, for New Zealand grape wine there are specific export requirements.

Requirements for export

To be eligible for export, New Zealand grape wine must:

• have a related set of records that demonstrate traceability of grapes from the vine to the bottle and truthfulness of label statements. In practice, this means the wine must be manufactured under a registered wine standards management plan (WSMP) with an acceptable audit outcome. To export New Zealand grape wine the WSMP must be verified annually.

• be free from obvious fault. This is assessed by an independent panel of experts from the wine industry.

• meet any additional market access requirements of the country it is being exported to.

The Wine (New Zealand Grape Wine Export Eligibility Requirements) Notice 2006 details the legal requirements for export of New Zealand grape wine.

Wine (New Zealand Grape Wine Export Eligibility Requirements) Notice 2006 [PDF 70 KB]

Note this document is currently being updated.

Confirming export requirements are met

An ‘export eligibility statement’ is issued for consignments of New Zealand grape wine to confirm that the requirements for export have been met. The export eligibility statement has a unique permit number which indicates to New Zealand Customs that the consignment may be exported from New Zealand.

Certain wine consignments not for retail sale are exempt from these requirements.

Exemptions for wine consignments that are not for retail sale

Getting an export eligibility statement

WECS (the Wine Export Certification Service) issues export eligibility statements.

Getting an export eligibility statement for a consignment is a 2-step process:

1. Apply to get your wine batches assessed for export eligibility.

2. Put together a consignment from eligible batches of wine and apply for an export eligibility statement for the consignment.

You do all this online via the wine export portal. This is a password-protected web service. Complete and return the form below to get a password to the portal.

Wine export portal user registration form

Step 1: Getting your wine batches assessed for eligibility

Every batch of New Zealand grape wine that you wish to export must be confirmed as eligible for export by WECS. Apply online for each batch to be assessed. You can then track the status of each wine batch via the wine export portal, right through to final eligibility.

For each batch of wine, along with the online application, you must submit two samples to WECS. One of these samples is tested by an independent sensory evaluation panel. The second sample is retained as a reference sample and may be used in the comparative testing programme.

The comparative testing programme compares results from samples of wine submitted for export eligibility with those randomly selected from the same batch. The purpose of the programme is to ensure samples presented are representative of the batch of wine.

If the country you are exporting to requires laboratory analysis (that is, your wine is destined for the European Union) a third sample must be submitted for additional testing.

Laboratories for export wine analysis

Market-specific export requirements – including OMARs

Step 2: Getting your wine consignments assessed for eligibility

Once individual batches of wine have been assessed as eligible for export, you can select them online and include them in a consignment for export.

You apply to WECS for an export eligibility statement for each consignment. WECS checks that all the wine has met all general and market-specific export requirements, and issues the appropriate documents.

Costs of getting your wine assessed for eligibility

A set amount of Crown funding is available to support the export programme until the end of June 2010. This includes limited funding to support the cost of laboratory analysis for wine exported to the European Union. NZFSA will pay actual costs of laboratory testing for the EU up to notified maximum value.

Fees, charges, and funding of the wine export programme

More about wine exporter duties

For full details on how to meet your requirements as a New Zealand grape wine exporter, refer to the New Zealand grape wine export code.

New Zealand grape wine export code