Virginia Wine Industry Third Party Logistics

Photo credits: Cabernet Franc at Pollak Winery by Adam (flickr)

The wine industry has seen a significant increase over the last several years. Between the declining costs  of starting a small, locally-owned winery and Millennial consumers increasingly discovering wine as their favorite spirit (businessinsider), wineries across the world are seeing a renaissance like never before (wines&vines).

This boom is especially prevalent in Virginia. The state has a rich history of wine production that extends back to the English settlers in Jamestown, followed by none other than wine aficionado Thomas Jefferson establishing his own vineyards at his Monticello estate (Monticello). The state’s five unique climate regions and fertile soil offer entrepreneurs a perfect location to follow their passion.

The end result is that Virginia is fast becoming a hotspot for wine lovers. Travel & Leisure Magazine included the state on their 5 Regions to Visit Now list in 2009 (t&l). Forbes speculated in 2014 that Virginia was “poised to be the East Coast Napa” (forbes). In the last 10 years, Virginia has risen in the ranks of U.S. states by number of wineries to 5th with over 250 locations (virginiawine). The quality of Virginia wines has also improved drastically, with reviewers comparing the state’s output to the best of what long-established regions like California and France have to offer.

How Third-Party Logistics Can Help a Winery

Like any business, wineries have a crucial need for easily-accessible storage and efficient shipping. The right 3PL partner can turn a good local wine into a great regional or national product by aiding in wider distribution and managed warehousing.

InterChange has an established record of being deeply involved in the Virginia wine industry through all steps of the winemaking process.

Finding the Right 3PL Partner to Keep Your Valuable Product Safe

Winemakers go to extensive, painstaking lengths to keep their products at the perfect conditions through all steps of the process. Fermenting must at the wrong temperature or aging barrels kept in the wrong location can quickly spoil an entire batch, literally pouring months of hard work down the drain.

Why should that utmost attention to detail stop at the front door? A trusted third-party logistics partner like InterChange will take care of your products through every step in the supply chain. Our trained staff handles, ships, and stores product with the same care a vintner takes in planting grapes and corking bottles for distribution.

Storing & Shipping Frozen Materials for Year-Round Production

While Virginia’s mild summers make for perfect grape and berry harvests, harsh East Coast winters can make production difficult for vintners. The crushed and pressed fruit, known as “must”, can be frozen and stored so that wineries can continue to supply their customers year-round. This frozen must needs to be stored and shipped in optimal conditions, otherwise it can quickly turn into unusable wasted material that drives costs up.

InterChange is a perfect third-party logistics partner for any Virginia winery who uses frozen must in their products. Our fleet of refrigerated trucks and food-grade, temperature controlled warehouses located across the state will safely keep your raw material at the optimum temperature until you need it. We work with wineries all over the state who use our shipping and storage solutions to ensure they can keep making their products all year, not just in the harvest months. 

Supplying Virginia Wineries with Imported French Oak Barrels

French oak is a white wood that has been used by vintners all over the world for centuries due to its unique qualities in the aging process. Aging freshly-made wine in French oak barrels adds flavors and aromas that no other wood can match (telya).

InterChange works with a specialty importer who ships these oak barrels directly from France for Virginia wineries who want to add a bit of the Old World flavor into their offerings. Interchange takes possession of these barrels and stores in our safe, secure, climate-controlled warehouses where they stay in perfect condition until needed by our customers.

InterChange – A Proven 3PL Provider for Virginia’s Wine Industry

If you’re ready to take your passion for wine production to the next level, contact InterChange today. Whether you’re a new or established vintner, we can help you streamline your business, from the field to the finished product, through our wide array of logistics services.