Selling wine from the farm and by mail: how a Heuriger sells more wine

Why selling from the farm and shipping pay off

In a Buschenschank you sell wine by the glass, and only for a few weeks a year. Selling from the farm extends that time: guests who sat in your garden buy the wine for home, for parties or as a gift. The margin is better than selling to retailers or restaurants, you get to know your customers personally and receive direct feedback on every vintage.

Shipping turns a Heuriger on the edge of the village into a winery people can order from all over Austria. Day trippers from Vienna, Graz or Linz may only come by once a year, but they reorder several times. For this to work, three things have to fit together: an inviting place to buy at the farm, a clear price list and an easy way to order online. The legal basics of serving wine are covered in the post Heuriger and Buschenschank in Austria.

Legal framework: agriculture, tax and till

Under § 2 of the Gewerbeordnung (Trade Act), primary agricultural and forestry production is exempt from the Trade Act. If you make wine from your own grapes and sell it from the farm, you usually do not need a trade licence for it. It gets trickier if you buy in wine or grapes, sell other people's products such as juices, oil or delicatessen alongside, or offer a paid tasting with food. Depending on the scale, this can be an agricultural side business, an unregulated trade or already the hospitality trade. Where the line is drawn depends on the individual case.

The cash register is another topic: if you regularly sell from the farm for cash or by card, the obligation to use a registered till and issue receipts may apply, even though the Buschenschank itself has a special rule. The thresholds and exceptions are explained in the post Cash register obligation in Austria. Labels and designations are governed by the Weingesetz (Austrian Wine Act) and EU wine law. Since December 2023, newly produced wines also need a nutrition declaration and a list of ingredients, both of which may be provided via a QR code as an electronic label. Allergens such as sulphites, however, must appear directly on the label.

Sales room and collection at the farm

A sales room does not have to be big. A tidy room next to the cellar or a corner of the Heuriger is enough if guests can see the wines there, taste them and take them away easily. What matters most are reliable hours: anyone who stands in front of a locked door on a Saturday morning rarely comes back. Set fixed hours for sales from the farm, outside the serving weeks too, and also offer collection by appointment.

Many Heurigen also sell directly from the tavern while they are open. Make this visible: a small stand on the table saying “All wines also to take away”, bottle prices on the wine list and a QR code to the online shop. Anyone who does not want to buy at the table will order from home the next day.

Price list: clear, complete, up to date

The price list is your most important sales tool, in print and online. It should answer every question customers would otherwise ask on the phone: Which wines are still available? What do they taste like? How much is a case? For consumers, prices must be shown as final prices including VAT. Which other price display rules apply in Austria is explained in the post Price display in Austria.

Update the list with every new vintage and remove sold-out wines straight away, online and in the sales room. A date at the bottom of the list shows how current it is. If you are pricing wine and food at the Heuriger, the price calculator helps with glass and bottle prices.

Online shop: duties and setup

An online shop does not have to be complicated. For most Heurigen a page with all wines, quantity selection, basket and payment is enough, or at first even an order form with confirmation by email. As soon as you sell to consumers, the Fern- und Auswärtsgeschäfte-Gesetz (FAGG, Austrian Distance and Off-Premises Contracts Act) applies. Before ordering, customers must be informed about prices, shipping costs, delivery restrictions, payment methods and the right of withdrawal, and the order button must make clear that the order comes with an obligation to pay.

In distance selling, the right of withdrawal is generally 14 days from receipt of the goods. The FAGG exception for alcoholic beverages only covers cases where the price is fixed when the contract is concluded, delivery takes place after more than 30 days and the value depends on market fluctuations. So for normal wine shipping, the right of withdrawal applies. The same goes for the mandatory food information: in distance selling it must be available before purchase, so on the product page. What has to go into the imprint is generated by the imprint generator.

Shipping, packaging and youth protection

Wine is heavy and fragile. Use tested wine shipping boxes with cardboard or moulded inserts made for parcel shipping, and check with your parcel service under what conditions glass and liquids are insured. Many wineries ship in units of 6, 12 or 18 bottles, because that fits the boxes and lowers the shipping cost per bottle.

• Austria: shipping to private customers within the country is the easiest way to start. Factor packaging, postage and breakage risk honestly into the shipping flat rate.
• Other EU countries: wine sent to private customers in other EU countries is subject to the VAT and excise rules of the destination country, often from the first bottle. Clarify this with a tax adviser and Zollamt Österreich (Austrian customs) before the first parcel.
• Countries outside the EU: customs, import rules and shipping bans in some countries make private shipping there complicated. Better to exclude them at first.
• Temperature: in high summer and during frost, pause shipping or switch to collection. That saves complaints.

Turning Heuriger guests into regular customers

Your best customers are already sitting in your garden. Anyone who had a lovely evening with you is happy to buy again if they are reminded at the right moment. The key is to keep in touch: with consent, an email address or phone number through which you may announce vintages, serving dates and offers.

• Newsletter: new vintage, young wine presentation, case offer before Christmas. How to collect addresses in line with the GDPR is explained in the post Newsletters for restaurants.
• Serving dates: anyone who knows when you are ausg'steckt again will come back and buy more. Tips in the post Communicating ausg'steckt dates.
• Table stand with a QR code: leads straight to the price list or the shop, made with the menu QR code.
• Wine packages and vouchers: tasting packages with six wines and vouchers for tastings are popular gifts, especially before Christmas. You can design print-ready vouchers with the gift voucher generator.
• Personal touch: a handwritten card in the parcel, an invitation to a cellar tour for loyal customers.

On your website, sales hours, price list, shop and serving calendar belong together. Guests should see at a glance when they can drop by and how to get wine delivered home. Enter your sales hours in your Google Business Profile so that searchers see “Open” not only during the serving weeks.