How Many Gallons of Wine Does a Ton of Grapes Make? (Free Calculator)

How many gallons of wine are in a ton of grapes?

Plan on about 150 gallons of wine per ton of grapes, within a realistic range of roughly 130 to 180 gallons. That range comes from Cornell CALS, which uses 150 gallons as its example. At 150 gallons per ton, a ton makes about 756 bottles, or about 63 cases of 12. Many winemakers plan on a rounder 60 cases per ton because wine is lost during racking, moving, filtering, and aging.

There is no single answer because yield depends on the grapes and on decisions in the cellar. That is why the calculator below lets you change the number.

Conversion constants

These are definitions, not estimates:

Why does yield vary?

• Variety and cluster size. Some varieties give more juice than others.
• Ripeness and berry condition. Dry, shriveled fruit gives less juice.
• Pressing. Gentle pressing gives less wine per ton than hard pressing, and quality usually goes the other way.
• Red or white. Whites are often pressed before fermenting and reds after, which affects how much liquid is recovered. See how red and white wine differ.
• Cellar losses. Racking, filtering, fining, and evaporation in barrels all reduce the final volume.

Worked examples

Using 150 gallons per ton:

How does this help when buying grapes or bulk wine?

If you know the volume of wine you want, divide by the gallons per ton to find the tons you need. If you are comparing a grape price to a bulk wine price, convert both to the same unit. For example, at 150 gallons per ton, a price of $2,400 per ton of grapes is $16 per gallon of wine from the fruit alone, before crushing, fermenting, storing, and losses. That is an illustration of arithmetic, not a market price.

Related numbers

• Grapes per bottle: roughly 600 to 800, according to Cornell CALS.
• Pounds of grapes per gallon: at 150 gallons per ton, about 13.3 pounds.
• Tons per acre: Cornell CALS cites a range of 2 to 30, with about four tons per acre a reasonable average for wine grapes.

Two unit mix-ups that throw off the math

Conversions go wrong most often because of units, not arithmetic.

• Short ton vs metric tonne. In the United States, a ton is a short ton of 2,000 pounds, about 907 kilograms. A metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms, about 10 percent more. Grape prices and yields quoted outside the US may use tonnes, so check which one a source means.
• US gallon vs imperial gallon. A US gallon is 3.785 liters. An imperial (UK) gallon is about 4.546 liters, roughly 20 percent larger. HarvestLink and this guide use US gallons.

If a quote, a yield figure, or a piece of equipment is described in units you did not expect, convert first and compare second.

How can you estimate your own yield?

Published ranges are a starting point. To plan a real harvest:

1. Use last year's records. Divide the gallons of finished wine by the tons of grapes for the same block and variety.
2. Adjust for the style. If you plan to press harder or gentler than last year, expect the number to move.
3. Include losses. Count the wine you will lose to lees, racking, filtering, and evaporation from barrels.
4. Plan on the conservative number. Many winemakers use 60 cases per ton so the volume they promise is a volume they can deliver.

A grower who wants to sell fruit can use the same math in reverse. If a buyer says they need 3,000 gallons, that is about 20 tons at 150 gallons per ton.

Shop by the ton or by the gallon

Browse wine grapes priced per ton or bulk wine priced per gallon. For the buying process, read how to buy wine grapes.