Quick answer
Grape growers usually borrow to carry costs between vintage and staged grape payments, buy machinery such as harvesters and sprayers, secure water, and redevelop or remove blocks. Banks and agribusiness lenders suit established vineyards with land equity and grape purchase contracts. Equipment finance covers machinery, and non-bank lenders can lend against vineyard or other property when a bank is cautious about the wine sector or slow to decide.
Key points
- Grape payments are often staged; the voluntary industry code points buyers to paying in thirds, with the last third due by the end of September
- A mandatory winegrape purchasing code starts on 1 January 2027, and winemakers will have to publish their payment terms
- Lenders weigh contract coverage heavily: a vineyard with long-term contracts for in-demand varieties is a very different risk from one selling on the spot market
- Structural oversupply, especially in some warm inland regions, means lenders are cautious and look closely at water costs and exit options
Vintage is the busiest few weeks of a grape grower’s year, and for many it’s also the start of a long wait. The fruit is picked between February and April, delivered to the winery, assessed and paid for, often in stages stretching into spring. Meanwhile pruning, spraying, irrigation, water charges and wages carry on as the next season begins.
Lenders who fund vineyards understand this rhythm. What they’re weighing in 2026 is a sector under pressure: an oversupply of some grape varieties, uneven prices, and a new mandatory code on the way. A grower who can show where their grapes go, when they’ll be paid and how the business copes with a weak year is in a much stronger position than one who can’t.
When does grape money actually arrive?
There’s no single rule across Australia, and that’s the root of most viticulture cash flow problems.
The industry’s voluntary Code of Conduct for Australian Winegrape Purchases recommends that buyers, at minimum, follow the payment schedule legislated in South Australia:
| Instalment | Due by |
|---|---|
| First third | End of the month after the month of delivery |
| Second third | End of June |
| Final third | End of September |
The voluntary code also says late payers should pay interest at commercial rates. In practice, terms vary from winemaker to winemaker, and some pay faster. But a grower delivering in March may not see the final instalment for six months, and the next season’s pruning will have started before it lands.
That’s why lenders ask for each buyer’s payment terms, not just the price per tonne. A facility that’s sized to carry the business from vintage to the final instalment, with room to spare, is the core of most vineyard lending.
What changes on 1 January 2027?
The government has confirmed that a mandatory Code of Conduct for Winegrape Purchases takes effect on 1 January 2027, replacing the voluntary code for the large winemakers it covers. The ACCC will enforce it, and growers will be able to raise complaints anonymously.
For finance, the most relevant points so far:
- Payment terms must be published. Winemakers covered by the code will have to publish their payment terms, and payment practices will be monitored.
- No fixed payment deadline, yet. The independent review led by Craig Emerson suggested full payment within 30 to 60 days as a fallback if terms didn’t improve. The government chose not to mandate specific timeframes for now.
- Earlier price signals are a focus. The government wants winemakers to provide earlier indicative prices for each variety they contract.
Published terms should make grape income easier to forecast and easier for a lender to verify. They won’t shorten the wait on their own, so a working capital buffer is still essential.
Bridging the months between delivery and that last instalment is a classic job for a revolving facility or a fixed-term working capital loan, both covered in the table further down. You can also sketch out your situation in a sixty-second form and have someone call you back, without a credit check at that stage.
What does a lender weigh in a vineyard?
Contract coverage. The share of your crop under long-term contracts, and with whom. A Riverland grower quoted by the ABC in April 2026 noted that only about 40% of Murray Valley growers have long-term contracts. Growers who sell most of their fruit on the spot market carry much more price risk, and lenders reflect that.
Variety and region. Varieties that winemakers want, grown in regions with a strong reputation, hold value. Several warm-climate inland reds have been in surplus for years, and that drags on what wineries pay per tonne as well as what valuers put on the vines.
Water. Irrigated vineyards depend on owned entitlements, annual allocations and, in many cases, leased water. Rising water lease prices directly reduce margins, so lenders look at how much of your water you own outright.
Vine age and condition. Old vines on tired trellising may need redevelopment. Young blocks won’t be at full yield for a few years.
The exit. Lenders think about what happens if the vineyard has to be sold or repurposed. Land with secure water and alternative uses is easier to lend against.
Finance options for vineyards
| Need | Finance commonly used |
|---|---|
| Carrying costs from vintage to the final grape payment | Seasonal bank facility, business line of credit or working capital loan |
| Harvesters, tractors, sprayers, mulchers | Equipment finance or a chattel mortgage |
| Water entitlements | Bank agribusiness lending, sometimes secured over the water itself |
| Re-trellising, grafting to new varieties, replanting | Term loan secured over the land, often with interest-only years |
| Removing blocks and diversifying | Land-secured lending, ideally with a clear plan for the new use |
| Refinancing when a bank wants to reduce exposure | Non-bank business loans against rural property |
Growers who also make wine face a longer cash cycle, because stock sits in tank and bottle for months or years. Our guide on how wineries fund vintage covers that side of the business.
When the numbers don’t add up
Some growers are facing decisions that aren’t really about borrowing more: whether to graft, pull out a block, sell water, or sell up. Borrowing to keep an unprofitable block going for another season rarely makes things better. Talk to your accountant, and look at comparing a loan with selling assets before you commit.
Free rural financial counselling is available in every state through the Rural Financial Counselling Service, and it’s well worth using if you’re weighing big changes.
Where borrowing does make sense, such as refinancing short-term debt into something sustainable, funding a regraft that a contracted buyer has asked for, or covering the gap while water or land is sold, the right lender can help.
Documents a vineyard lender will ask for
- Grape purchase contracts or agreements, showing buyers, tonnes, varieties and payment terms
- Delivery dockets and grape payment statements for at least two vintages
- Recent profit and loss statements, balance sheets and lodged returns
- A vineyard map or block list: varieties, area, planting year and recent yields
- Water entitlement and allocation records, and any lease arrangements
- A schedule of current debts and equipment finance
- Your ATO portal statement and BAS lodgement history
Worked example: bridging the final third
A hypothetical case with made-up numbers. A grower in the Riverland has 60 hectares of vines, with about half the crop contracted to a large winemaker and the rest sold to smaller buyers. This vintage brought in $540k of grape income, but the contracted buyer pays in thirds, and the final $120k isn’t due until the end of September.
In July, the grower faces a $90k water bill, pruning wages and a harvester repair. Their bank facility is nearly fully drawn after a weak previous season. Rather than sell water at a poor time, they take a six-month secured loan from a non-bank lender against their house, sized at $150k, with the final grape instalment as the planned repayment. They also start talking with their bank about restructuring the seasonal facility before next vintage, using the contracted buyer’s published terms to show when income will land.
Planning around the next vintage
Banks remain the cheapest source of vineyard finance for growers who fit their criteria, and an agribusiness banker who understands your region is worth a lot. When the bank is cautious about the wine sector, or simply can’t move before a bill falls due, other lenders will look at your land, your contracts and your water.
You can tell us about your vineyard in roughly a minute, and nothing about it touches your credit rating. We don’t parcel your details out to a stack of finance companies, so you won’t be hounded by callers. A real person on our side looks at your contracts, your water and your timing, then gives you a ring. Answer the form carefully, especially on grape income, land value and existing loans, so we can steer you to a sensible option from the start.
Frequently asked questions
Can I borrow against a grape purchase contract?
A contract won't usually be security on its own, but it strongly supports a loan secured over the vineyard or other property. Lenders want to see the buyer, the tonnes and varieties covered, the price mechanism, the payment terms and how long the contract runs.
How do lenders value a vineyard?
A valuer looks at the land, water entitlements, improvements and the vines themselves, considering variety, age, trellising and the region's grape prices. In regions with oversupply, vineyard values can sit closer to the value of the underlying land and water, and lenders lend against that more conservative number.
Will the new mandatory code make lenders more comfortable?
It may help over time, especially if published payment terms make income easier to predict. The government decided not to set fixed payment timeframes, though, so lenders will still look at each winemaker's actual terms and payment record.
Can I finance a used grape harvester?
Usually, yes. Harvesters are specialised but well-known machines with an active second-hand market. Lenders want documented hours, a service history and a PPSR search showing no finance owing. Repayments can sometimes be scheduled around vintage and grape payment dates.
Is a vineyard loan different if I also make wine?
Yes. A grower-only business is judged on grape contracts and land. A grower who also makes and sells wine carries bottled and bulk stock, distribution risk and longer cash cycles. Lenders look at the winery side separately, and stock or trade finance may come into play.