Custom Crush vs Estate Winery Compliance: Key Differences

By VitiScribe Editorial·September 9, 2025·Updated October 9, 2025

Custom crush clients may face audit exposure for records kept by the crush facility. That sentence should get any grower or winery owner's attention. In a custom crush arrangement, your compliance exposure doesn't end at the vineyard gate, it extends into the facility where your fruit is processed, and the lines of responsibility are often murkier than either party realizes.

TL;DR

The grower who made pesticide applications is responsible for those spray records -- that obligation does not transfer to the custom crush facility or the wine brand that purchased the fruit
Custom crush clients (winery brands) inherit audit risk from grower spray records: a TTB audit of a bonded winery can request complete pesticide records for fruit in the wine, and incomplete grower records create a problem for the client's audit
California DPR's minimum record retention is 3 years; TTB bonded winery record retention is 5 years -- custom crush clients should retain grower records for the longer period
A fruit purchase or custom crush contract should require grower representation that spray records are complete and PHI-compliant, and give the buyer the right to request and retain copies
VitiScribe allows growers to grant read-only record access to custom crush clients and winery buyers, so clients can verify PHI compliance before delivery without waiting for paper copies
Pre-delivery PHI audit checklists should confirm: records are complete through last application, no product is within PHI of harvest date, all materials are registered for wine grapes, and RUP records show proper applicator credentials

Custom crush operations have distinct liability for spray records versus estate operations. Understanding that distinction before an audit is the difference between a manageable compliance situation and an expensive one.

The Fundamental Difference in Record Ownership

In an estate winery operation, one entity grows the grapes, processes the fruit, and produces the wine. Spray records, harvest records, and production records all belong to the same operation. The chain of custody is straightforward.

In a custom crush arrangement, the fruit ownership and the processing facility are separate. A contract grower sells fruit to a custom crush client (a brand or winery label), who then contracts with a licensed custom crush facility to process it. Three parties, three sets of records, and potential gaps at every handoff.

The legal question of who is responsible for what records depends on the arrangement's structure, the state where operations occur, and how the contracts between parties are written.

Spray Record Responsibility: Who Owns What

The Contract Grower's Records

The person who applied the pesticide is responsible for the pesticide application record. Full stop. If you farmed the vineyard and made the spray decisions, your name is on those records, regardless of whether the fruit went to a custom crush facility, an estate winery, or was sold on the bulk market.

California DPR tracks applications to the applicator and the property. If DPR audits spray records for a block that sold to a custom crush client, they audit the grower. The crush facility is not your backstop for field compliance.

Your obligations as the grower:

Maintain complete pesticide use records for all applications on your property
File annual pesticide use reports with your county agricultural commissioner
Verify PHI compliance before delivering fruit to any buyer
Retain records for the required retention period (3 years California DPR minimum)

The Custom Crush Client's Exposure

Here's where it gets complicated. If you're a custom crush client, a wine brand that sources fruit from growers and has it processed at a custom crush facility, you inherit risk from your grower's spray records even though you didn't make any spray decisions.

A TTB audit of your bonded winery can request complete pesticide records for the fruit in your wine. If your grower's records are incomplete, that's a problem for your audit, not just theirs. If your grower can't demonstrate PHI compliance for a product with a 30-day PHI that was applied 18 days before harvest, your fruit was non-compliant and your wine was made from non-compliant fruit.

Custom crush clients need:

Contractual representations from growers that records are complete and PHI-compliant
The ability to request and receive grower spray records before or at delivery
Their own archive of those records for TTB retention purposes

The Custom Crush Facility's Records

The facility that processes the fruit holds production records, lot numbers, processing dates, wine volume, and transfer records. They typically don't hold grower spray records unless the arrangement specifically requires them to.

This is the gap that creates audit exposure. A TTB auditor who wants the complete record chain for a wine lot needs to pull records from the grower, potentially from the custom crush client, and from the processing facility. If any of those three records are incomplete or inaccessible, the audit has a problem.

State-by-State Compliance Variations

California

In California, the agricultural commissioner's county-level oversight of pesticide records applies to the grower, not the buyer. But the CDFA's winegrape residue programs and TTB's federal oversight both affect the full supply chain. Custom crush operations operating under a California licensed premises (Type 17) have specific bonded winery record requirements that include access to source fruit documentation.

Oregon

Oregon ODA pesticide records follow the applicator. But Oregon OLCC licensing for wineries, including custom crush facilities operating under winery licenses, creates a state-level compliance layer that intersects with federal TTB requirements.

Washington

Washington WSDA record requirements for custom crush are similar in structure to California: the grower holds the application records, but the licensed facility can face scrutiny if the fruit source records are inadequate during a state inspection.

How to Structure a Custom Crush Arrangement for Compliance

Contract Language That Protects Everyone

A custom crush or fruit purchase agreement should specify:

Grower's representation that spray records are complete, accurate, and PHI-compliant
Grower's obligation to provide spray records to the buyer upon request
Buyer's right to retain copies of spray records for their own compliance files
Timeline for record delivery (before delivery, at delivery, or within X days of delivery)

This isn't just good practice, it's the documentation trail that protects the buyer in a TTB audit.

Shared Access to Digital Records

The most practical solution is growers and custom crush clients sharing access to the same digital record system. In VitiScribe, a grower can grant a custom crush client read-only access to their spray records. The client can pull records for any block, date range, or product on demand, without depending on the grower to produce paper copies.

That shared access is particularly valuable for custom crush clients managing multiple grower relationships. You can verify PHI compliance yourself, in real time, before delivery.

Pre-Delivery PHI Audit

Build a pre-delivery checklist into your custom crush arrangement. Before fruit arrives at the facility, verify:

Spray records are complete through the last application
No application is within PHI of the harvest date
All materials used are registered for use on wine grapes
Any restricted-use materials show proper applicator credentials

VitiScribe generates a PHI compliance summary for any block and date range. That report is the document you need at delivery.

Managing Audit Risk for Custom Crush Clients

The single biggest audit risk for custom crush clients is incomplete documentation from growers. You can't control what a grower records, but you can build contractual and practical protections that give you access to verify it.

If a TTB audit requests records for a wine lot, your response is as strong as the grower's records you have access to. Growers using VitiScribe with shared client access give their custom crush clients audit-ready records in real time.

See the vineyard spray log compliance hub for complete spray record requirements, and the small vineyard management guide for context on how small-scale growers typically structure their compliance records.

FAQ

Who is responsible for spray records in a custom crush arrangement?

The grower who made the pesticide applications is responsible for pesticide application records. That record obligation doesn't transfer to the custom crush facility or the wine brand that purchased the fruit. However, the custom crush client, the winery brand, has a compliance interest in those records because TTB audits and state compliance reviews can request documentation of the fruit source. Custom crush clients should require growers to represent that records are complete and PHI-compliant, and should obtain copies of those records at delivery.

What compliance records does a custom crush client need to maintain?

Custom crush clients should maintain their own copies of grower spray records for all fruit purchased, along with fruit purchase documentation showing the grower, block, date of harvest, and tonnage. These records support TTB bonded winery compliance, state DTC permit requirements in destination states, and any third-party sustainability or quality audit the winery participates in. Retain grower records for the same period as your own production records, at minimum 5 years for TTB, longer if state requirements exceed that.

How does VitiScribe handle spray record ownership for custom crush vineyards?

In VitiScribe, spray records are owned by the grower's account. Growers can grant read-only access to specific records or entire block histories to custom crush clients or winery buyers through the platform's sharing features. Clients can generate PHI compliance reports, pull spray history by block and date range, and export records in formats accepted by TTB, California DPR, and state certifiers. This shared access model means custom crush clients can verify compliance without waiting for the grower to produce paper copies on request.

What should a grower do if a custom crush buyer requests spray records more than 2 years old?

California DPR's minimum record retention is 2 years (3 years in practice for most operations), but TTB bonded winery requirements extend to 5 years. If a buyer is requesting records older than your state-required retention period, you're not legally obligated to produce them under state pesticide law -- but you may have contractual obligations if your fruit purchase agreement specified a longer retention commitment. The practical answer: retain records for the longer of your state requirement, the TTB window, and any contractual obligation you've made to buyers. VitiScribe stores records without expiration date for active subscriptions, so if you've been using the system for more than 2 years, those older records are available regardless of when the request comes in.

How do custom crush compliance requirements differ in California versus Oregon for the same grower-winery arrangement?

The fundamental structure is similar -- grower holds spray records, buyer has access rights through contract -- but the specific state requirements differ. In California, DPR's 24-hour RUP filing requirement and county-level reporting structure create more complex record management for the grower than Oregon's ODA requirements. California's 3-year minimum retention (versus Oregon's 2-year requirement) also affects how long grower records need to remain accessible. For custom crush clients sourcing from both California and Oregon growers, the safest approach is to match the California retention standard (3 years) for all grower records regardless of origin, and to include language in all fruit purchase contracts requiring DPR or ODA compliance representation from the grower.

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Sources

California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR)
Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)
Wine Institute
American Vineyard Foundation

Get Started with VitiScribe

Custom crush compliance is a chain -- grower records, buyer verification, facility documentation -- and the weakest link is usually the handoff between grower and buyer. VitiScribe's shared access feature lets growers give their custom crush clients real-time read access to spray records, PHI compliance reports, and block history, so the buyer can verify compliance before delivery rather than reconstructing records during a TTB audit. Try VitiScribe free and see how shared record access changes the custom crush documentation conversation.